Sharon defies calls to end offensive

Just hours after his soldiers opened fire on Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said this morning he intended to complete his military operation against Yasser Arafat's "regime of terror", a move that directly defies US calls to pull troops out of the West Bank immediately.
In an hour-long speech to the Israeli parliament, Mr Sharon ignored calls from the US president, George Bush, to end "today" an 11-day old offensive that has left Israel in control of six out of eight West Bank towns and led to the arrest of more than 1,000 Palestinians.

Mr Sharon announced: "These missions have not been completed and the army will continue to operate with as much speed as possible until they are completed.