WASHINGTON appealed for restraint last night as Israeli tanks prepared to launch a punitive raid on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the killing of 16 people by a Palestinian suicide bomber.
Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said: "Israel has to be very mindful of its responsibilities to protect peace in the region and work towards a vision of peace."
Two battalions of Israeli armour were massed on the edge of the Gaza Strip, enough for a search and destroy mission but insufficient to hold territory in the area's densely-populated towns and refugee camps.
The Israeli cabinet decided yesterday to authorise "actions against terrorist targets" and the army ordered a new emergency mobilisation of reservists, suggesting that the operation would last weeks.
Thursday, May 09, 2002
Bush warns Israel to restrain tanks
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