BBC News Online: World: Middle East

Don't sacrifice Israel, warns Sharon

Sharon: From now on, we will count only on ourselves

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned that he will not accept attempts to appease Arab states at Israel's expense.

This was Mr Sharon's toughest criticism yet of the United States, Israel's closest ally.

Washington has pressured Israel to agree to a ceasefire with the Palestinians in order to cool the conflict enough to bring Arabs on board its coalition against terror.

But the truce has been a failure on the ground.

Since it was signed, at least 21 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and five Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks.

Israel has been showing increasing impatience with the violence.

Not Czechoslovakia

On Thursday Mr Sharon said that Israel would fight what he called terrorism without let-up, cancelling its earlier promise to suspend military strikes.

He compared the situation to events leading up to World War II, when European countries gave approval to Nazi Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia.

"We will not be Czechoslovakia," he said.

"This is unacceptable to us. From now on, we will count only on ourselves".

Palestinian leaders have accused Mr Sharon of failing to keep his side of the deal by lifting the army's stranglehold on Palestinian cities.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat faces a tough task holding back extremists opposed to the ceasefire.