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| Abbas breaks contact with Israel | Abbas breaks contact with Israel |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has suspended contact with Israel in protest at an assault on Gaza which has killed about 100 people, an aide says. | |
| The suspension came amid angry demonstrations in Gaza and clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank. | |
| Israeli PM Ehud Olmert vowed to carry on the assault, which came in response to militant rocket attacks on Israel. | |
| The assault intensified on Saturday, when nearly 70 people were killed in one of Gaza's bloodiest days in years. | |
| The negotiations are suspended, because in light of the Israeli aggression such communication has no meaning Mahmoud Abbas class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7272386.stm">In pictures: Gaza violence | |
| Local doctors said that at least 13 of the Palestinians were civilians, including eight children. | |
| Another five people were killed overnight in Gaza. | Another five people were killed overnight in Gaza. |
| The violence has drawn international calls for restraint, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging both sides to halt the violence. | The violence has drawn international calls for restraint, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging both sides to halt the violence. |
| But Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said his country needed to prepare for an escalation of its military operations in Gaza. | But Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said his country needed to prepare for an escalation of its military operations in Gaza. |
| 'No meaning' | |
| Mr Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said it was Israel's fault the talks had been broken off. | |
| "The negotiations are suspended, as are all contacts on all levels, because in light of the Israeli aggression such communication has no meaning," he said. | |
| A spokesman for Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Arye Mekel, told Reuters news agency the Palestinian decision was a mistake, and expressed the hope that talks would resume. | |
| Mr Abbas restarted the talks after a conference in November in the US city of Annapolis. | |
| US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit the region in a few days. | |
| West Bank clashes | |
| Violence continued on Sunday, with Israeli planes attacking the offices of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Gaza City. | |
| The offices were destroyed and five people killed. | |
| Sporadic gunfire is continuing around Gaza, as funerals are held across the territory. | |
| There were also clashes in the West Bank. | |
| One Palestinian was killed in Hebron as troops responded to stone-throwing youths with rubber bullets and tear gas. | |
| Other protests were held in Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem, AFP news agency reported. |