A Palestinian attack in the West Bank drew a threat from Israel today to scrap a promise to limit military operations on the eve of a presidential election to pick a successor to Yasser Arafat.
"We (pledged to) to ease off for 72 hours under agreement with the Palestinians, so that their security forces would take over responsibilities for the relevant areas," a senior Israeli security source said. "If they fail to make good on that, we will have no choice but to act," the source said, a day after Palestinian gunmen ambushed a car carrying soldiers in civilian clothes in the West Bank, killing one of them and wounding three.
Israel Radio said former US President Mr Jimmy Carter, an international monitor in tomorrow's ballot, was asked by an adviser to Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon to deliver the warning to Palestinian leader Mr Mahmoud Abbas, the front-running candidate.
Mr Abbas has called on militants to end violence in a 4-year-old Palestinian uprising.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers shot dead a 60-year-old Palestinian who was in a car at a junction near an army post and a Jewish settlement, local medics said. The army said troops opened fire at a gunman who approached a military position.
Meanwhile Palestinian officials and media appealed to voters to cast their ballots in the first presidential election in the Palestinian territories since 1996. But there was no sign of any loosening of Israel's military grip around West Bank cities.
"The Palestinians and their cars are being checked at the roadblocks. This is not what we call easing of restrictions," Palestinian cabinet minister Mr Saeb Erekat said.
Israeli military sources have said those checkpoints would remain in place but the army intended to refrain from carrying out operations against militants a day before the vote, on election day and the day after.