Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, the leader of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, said his organization would continue suicide attacks on Israelis. Shalah's words ended earlier speculation that the Islamic Jihad would follow the Hamas's lead and comply with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's call last week to halt such attacks, along with mortar shellings, inside Israel.

In remarks published today in the London-based Al Hayat newspaper, Shalah said, "The principle of resistance should not be touched. The basis of 'as long as there is occupation, there will be resistance' should not be shaken or undermined."

The interview with Shalah was undated, but Islamic Jihad

"We announce the halting of martyrdom operations inside the occupied lands of 1948" - Hamas announcement

issued a statement to the Associated Press in Damascus confirming that the "armed struggle" would continue as before.

On Friday, Nafez Azzam, a senior Islamic Jihad official in Gaza, had told Reuters that the Islamic Jihad was considering a suspension of suicide bombings. He said the move was out of "concern for Palestinian unity. Islamic Jihad will not be a cause for creating internal tensions and strife.''

Earlier on Friday, the political wing of the Hamas announced that it was suspending suicide attacks in Israel under pressure from Arafat. The organization issued a statement saying the attacks were halted "for the sake of the unity of [the] Palestinian people… and in response to many wise people who want to avoid giving our occupiers a chance to split our unity." The organization did clarify that its announcement referred only to "martyrdom operations inside the occupied lands of 1948 and the halting of the firing of mortar shells.''

A leaflet issued by the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, said it was "committed to following the announcement of the political wing" and declared its willingness to suspend activities in areas of "Palestine occupied in 1948 only, and temporarily."

The Hamas announcement followed heavy clashes between its supporters and Palestinian police on Friday, in which at least seven people were killed and over 100 injured. Friction between the Hamas and the PA was also averted when senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi agreed to refrain from speaking with the media. Earlier in the week, Hamas supporters had prevented the PA from detaining Rantissi, but he was reportedly put under house arrest.

Rantissi warned that the Hamas "would not let the PA disarm the organization to please the Americans and the Israelis."

Israel rejects geographic distinctions between attacks
Israeli diplomatic and military officials dismissed the Hamas announcement as a ploy to ease pressure on Arafat. "This is a tactical move by Hamas, which is a terrorist organization,'' said Gideon Meir, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director general of information and communications. "I think there is an agreement, a silent agreement to postpone the crackdown for a while."

Officials rejected the Hamas geographic distinctions between attacks in different areas. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said, "There is no difference in blood. We will not agree to a situation where there is a distinction between attacks in the territories and inside Israel."

A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office added, "Terror is aimed at innocent civilians, and it makes no difference whether they find targets in Emmanuel, Neve Dekalim and Beit El, or in Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv."

Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz also did not put too much faith in the Hamas announcement. "The Hamas has not made a strategic decision to halt terror and to allow a return to negotiations," he said. "We are still receiving warnings of terror attacks, and even of suicide bombings," he added.

Even so, Maariv reported that there were fewer warnings than in previous days. Security officials labeled the Hamas announcement a "fragile decision, which could be disrupted in a second by a single terrorist."

Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres told Army Radio that he was pleased by Hamas's statement, but that the "test is in the results." Peres said that the announcement and the relative quiet of recent days were the direct result of pressure exerted by and on the Palestinian Authority. Even so, Peres warned Israel would continue to hit "any walking time bombs who are on their way to carry out terror attacks in Israel."

The American response to the Hamas announcement expressed wariness. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "I realize they've said they won't conduct suicide bombings. That has to lead to the conclusion that maybe someday they'll say they will. The point is that the Palestinian Authority needs to make sure that they can't."

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