Palestinian leadership shaken after militant attack

TONY EASTLEY: When the new Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas was elected nine days ago, many hoped his stand against attacks on Israelis would reinvigorate the Middle-East peace process, but before he was even sworn-in the standing of his leadership was shaken.

Palestinian militants struck a border crossing into the Gaza strip killing six Israelis. Since then at least eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in and around Gaza.

It's left Mahmoud Abbas looking politically impotent.

Israel has now cut all ties with the Palestinian authority and Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has ordered his army to take the gloves off.

Palestinian leadership shaken after militant attackPalestinian leadership shaken after militant attackMatt Brown how keen is the Palestinian leadership on renewing the negotiations, and given Ariel Sharon's hard-line on this, is the door open to any negotiation at all?

MATT BROWN: The door is still open, Tony, but obviously the first thing to note about that is these Palestinian leaders are people negotiating from a very weak position.

Many of their people are tired of the violence, they're tired of the little things that can loom large in daily life, like Israeli military check-points and today the Palestinian Liberation Organisation called for an end to attacks on Israelis.

It says those attacks merely give the Israeli Government an excuse to sabotage Palestinian stability and the peace process.

That statement not really that surprising given that Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian President has himself invested a huge amount of political capital in ending these political attacks on Israelis.

He's called for calm on both sides of the conflict, but the militants have answered that call so far with violence.

TONY EASTLEY: How is Mahmoud Abbas dealing with militant Palestinian groups?

MATT BROWN: Well he seems so far to lack the resolve, maybe even the ability to move against these groups that would achieve a lasting result - certainly in a way that would satisfy the concerns of the government in Israel.

Instead, he's negotiating with them. He plans to travel to the Gaza strip where the violence has been most intense, to discuss a ceasefire with militant leaders later this week. So Tony, just days after Mahmoud Abbas' inauguration, his authority's going to be right on the line.

TONY EASTLEY: And for his part, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, can see nothing that Mahmoud Abbas can bring to the negotiating table at the moment.

MATT BROWN: He's not satisfied that Mahmoud Abbas is doing enough to end attacks on Israelis.

Ariel Sharon says the Israeli military's been ordered to take on the Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip.

The language he used, Tony was pretty important. Ariel Sharon said that the army's been instructed to increase its activity and to do so without restrictions. "I emphasise," he said "without restrictions so long as the Palestinians don't lift a finger."

It's worth remembering of course, that at the end of last week there was an attack by Palestinians that kill six Israeli civilians at the main crossing into Gaza.

That attack involved an armed group that is a part of Mahmoud Abbas' own Fatah organisation.