August 23, 2003	Saturday	Jumadi-us-Sani 24, 1424

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GAZA CITY, Aug 22: The hardline Palestinian groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas on Friday formally ended their seven-week-old truce amid vows of all-out war after the death of a leading militant in an Israeli air strike.

The groups issued a joint statement to bury the three-month ceasefire, stating: “We announce together today that Sharon assassinated the truce and delivered the final blow in killing political leader Ismail Abu Shanab,” the joint statement said.

“The Zionist enemy bears full responsibility for the ceasefire’s end and the consequences of the escalation of violence that will flow from it.

“We also blame the US administration, for not only has it remained silent about the Zionists’ crimes, it has also provided them with political cover.”

The statement also urged the moderate Palestinian leadership to abandon its threats of a crackdown on militants and to “reject US and Zionist pressures and rejoin the Palestinian people in its resistance” to Israeli occupation.

The Israeli government already considered it dead after a suicide bombing on Tuesday killed 20 persons in Jerusalem.—AFP