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01/14/2005:

"Israel Seals Off Gaza Strip After Border Attack"

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip on Friday but said it would try to bolster new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas after militants, defying his call for non-violence, killed six Israelis at a border cargo terminal.

Three Palestinian gunmen were also killed in the bombing and shooting attack late on Thursday at the Karni crossing point, a commercial lifeline for Gaza.

Abbas, due to be sworn in as president on Saturday, condemned the assault and deadly raids Israel has mounted against militants.

Three militant groups said they jointly took part in the operation: Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed wing of Abbas's Fatah movement.

Israel signaled it would weigh its response carefully to avoid weakening Abbas, a leader it has said it could do business with after shunning his predecessor Yasser Arafat for years.

But Israel shut down Karni and the Erez border crossing to the north, effectively sealing off the Gaza Strip following the closure of the Rafah terminal on the Egyptian frontier last month after a bombing there killed five Israeli soldiers.
Full Article: nytimes.com/reuters