Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza after sweep

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Palestinians suspend talks
March 2: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended peace talks. NBC’s Tom Aspell reports from Gaza.

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The Israeli military confirmed both strikes, saying the first hit a rocket launch squad and the second struck a donkey cart loaded with rockets.

Gaza militants continued to fire rockets into southern Israel. Israeli rescue workers said three rockets struck Ashkelon, with one hitting an apartment building. No casualties were reported.

Earlier in the day, Israeli airstrikes targeted weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, a Hamas headquarters and police station. A total of six militants were killed. In Jebaliya, Palestinian medical teams found three bodies in rubble after Israeli troops left and medical officials said another three people wounded previously died Monday.

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Olmert said Israel must press forward with peace talks with moderate Palestinians.

“We want to carry on with negotiations because the alternative is Hamas rule in the West Bank as well. Anyone who sees what is going on in Gaza can well imagine how much worse it would be for Israel if there were to be Hamas rule in the West Bank,” Olmert said.

The Palestinians have two rival governments — the Abbas administration in the West Bank and the Hamas regime in Gaza.

While battling Hamas, Israel relaunched peace talks with Abbas at a U.S.-hosted conference in November. Although Abbas wields little influence in Gaza, he still claims to represent the area. On Sunday, he suspended the peace talks in sympathy with the people of Gaza.

Palestinian officials said that Abbas would not change his mind until the Israeli offensive ended and that he intended to complain about the Gaza incursion to Rice when she visited his West Bank headquarters Tuesday.

The Gaza violence illustrates the huge challenges facing the U.S.-sponsored peace push.

Olmert and Abbas have set a December target for a peace agreement. But with Hamas firmly in control of Gaza, it remains unclear how any deal can be carried out. Hamas, a violent Islamic group with close ties to Iran, is committed to Israel’s destruction.

In Washington, the State Department renewed U.S. calls for an end to the rocket attacks, accusing Hamas of pursuing “endless violence.” It also called for a speedy resumption of peace talks between Abbas and Israel.

“Our goal is to see that these negotiations resume and ultimately lead to an agreement by the end of the year, which is what the two leaders committed themselves to,” deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.