Sharon urges Israelis to vote despite attack

There is a new sense of vulnerability among Israelis

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has urged members of his Likud party not to let terror attacks frighten them away from voting in Thursday's party leadership election.

He was speaking shortly after six Israelis were killed in a gun attack on a polling station in the northern Israeli town of Beit Shean.

"Many citizens are today trying to fulfil their democratic duty. Terrorism tries to frighten them", Mr Sharon said. "I call on you, don't let terrorism stop you - go and vote."

He also hinted at a response to Thursday's attacks in Kenya on an Israeli-owned hotel and an Israeli charter plane, but refused to go into details.

Mr Sharon cast his ballot early in the day

"I had a discussion with Foreign Minister [Binyamin Netanyahu] and Defence Minister [Shaul Mofaz] about steps that should be taken. Those steps are being taken," Mr Sharon said.

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Jerusalem says there is a new sense of vulnerability and fear among Israelis that they will be targeted abroad, as well as by Palestinian militants at home.

'Escalation'

Mr Netanyahu described Kenya's attacks - which killed three Israelis and more than 10 other people - as a "very serious escalation" but warned it would be impossible to protect every aeroplane or tourist.

The attacks served as a warning not just to Israelis but to civilians all over the world, he said.

"Today, they're firing the missiles at Israeli planes, tomorrow they'll fire missiles at American planes, British planes, every country's aircraft," said Mr Netanyahu, who is challenging Mr Sharon for party leadership.

Hezbollah is known for its attacks on Israel from Lebanon

"Therefore there can be no compromise with terror."

There has been speculation that Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network is behind the attacks.

However, al-Qaeda has never yet been thought to have targeted Israelis, and Israeli security services have also pointed a finger at the Lebanese-based Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Mr Netanyahu said Hezbollah already used the type of anti-aircraft missiles employed in the attack on the plane, and that Palestinian groups were also trying to acquire them.

"We have to defeat not only the forces of terror, but also the regimes," he said.

Mossad role

Our correspondent says that security will now be stepped up at every kind of Israeli installation abroad, and general warnings about travel abroad are being issued.

We cannot put an armed guard next to every tourist, we cannot protect every plane that takes off or lands at every airfield in the world

Binyamin Netanyahu

Mr Sharon has reportedly asked the intelligence service Mossad to take charge of investigating the attacks.

Mossad - which will work in conjunction with the Defence Ministry - has a long history of hunting down terror suspects.

It tracked down and killed nearly all the Palestinians thought to be responsible for the kidnapping and deaths of 11 Israelis during the 1972 Munich Olympics.

'Supermarket'

But there are still concerns about how to maximise protection for Israeli citizens.

"We cannot put an armed guard next to every tourist, we cannot protect every plane that takes off or lands at every airfield in the world," Mr Netanyahu said.

Shoulder missiles unfortunately can be bought almost in the supermarket so no one ever knows

Zalman Shoval
Sharon spokesman

These concerns are compounded by the fact that there does not appear to have been a specific warning about the attacks.

Our correspondent says that Israeli intelligence is always quick to point out when there is a threat.

A spokesman for Mr Sharon, Zalman Shoval, said it was easy to acquire such weapons as those used in the attack on the aircraft.

"Shoulder [launched] missiles unfortunately can be bought almost in the supermarket so no-one ever knows," he said. "One must take all the necessary precautions, but what those are I can't tell."