Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned on Monday after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that continued rocket attacks from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip could accelerate a military conflict in the territory. Barak told Mubarak that "the ongoing rocket fire against civilian targets and terror activity from the Gaza Strip could accelerate an escalation towards a military conflict," his office said, according to AFP.
The Israeli minister reiterated Israel's demand "to accelerate and advance the talks for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit as part of any attempt to normalise the situation on the ground." Barak also urged an end to Hamas' "military build-up by thwarting weapon smuggling, terror money transfers and entry of terror activists" into Gaza.
Barak also met Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman in Sharm el-Sheikh where political leaders and business people are gathered for the Middle East World Economic Forum.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Nablus Monday afternoon. The Israeli military said that a Palestinian man arrived at a checkpoint acting suspiciously while pacing back and forth. The force manning the checkpoint called on him to identify himself and noted that he was handling an object that appeared to be an explosives belt secured to his body.
A witness, taxi driver Mohammed Mustafa, told The Associated Press "they asked him to lift up his shirt and raise his arms and then they shot him."
