Israel launched a wave of land, sea and air strikes against Palestinian positions today, a day after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon abruptly cancelled planned ceasefire talks.
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Mr Ariel Sharon
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Israel mounted major assaults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip which left three Palestinians dead, despite renewed international efforts to secure the talks between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat.
Mr Arafat called the attacks an Israeli attempt to "sabotage" the much-anticipated talks with Peres aimed at ending a year of bloodshed which has claimed more than 800 lives.
"This is intended to sabotage the meeting," Mr Arafat said after talks in Gaza City with the Russian Middle East envoy Mr Andrei Vdovin.
"It is an escalation to continue to implement their plan for 'oranim’" he said, using the Hebrew word for hell.
Late yesterday, Mr Sharon called off the talks which had been set for Sunday, saying they would be "inappropriate" after the terrorist attacks which killed thousands of people in the United States.
"The prime minister didn't cancel the meeting. He thinks that it's an inappropriate time if Mr Arafat cannot come through with real measures and steps to stop the violence," a senior Israeli official said, adding that the meeting may be held later.
Hours after the talks were called off, Israeli forces unleashed assaults on Palestinian targets.
AFP
