Ariel Sharon

Israeli officials said Abbas had not done enough to combat terrorism since his election Jan. 9. They also accused the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank and Gaza Strip, of complicity in the Jan. 13 assault at the Karni border crossing between Gaza and Israel.

Six Israelis -- four employees of the Israeli Ports Authority and two truck drivers -- were killed when three Palestinians blew up a door connecting the Israeli and Palestinian sides of the facility. The gunmen were killed in the ensuing fight.

The Israeli suspension of contacts came just three days after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon telephoned Abbas to congratulate him on his election win and informed his Cabinet that the two would meet soon. No date for the meeting had been set, but lower-level preparatory talks had begun, according to officials on both sides.

Sharon aide Raanan Gissin said no contact of any kind would take place until the new Palestinian government took concrete steps to prevent attacks such as the one at Karni.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 22, 2005
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