Kessel: Abbas challenged by Palestinian groups
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CNN's Jerrold Kessel
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Watch CNN Correspondent Jerrold Kessel's report on the attack.
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Three Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli military checkpoint Sunday in Gaza that killed four Israeli soldiers and injured four others, Israel Defense Forces said.
Palestinian gunmen disguised as Israeli soldiers opened fire on the soldiers, who were patrolling the Erez border crossing in Gaza. The Israeli soldiers returned fire, killing three Palestinian gunmen, the IDF said.
As CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports, the attack and the claims of responsibility highlight the challenge facing Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to revive the Middle East peace process.
KESSEL: The Erez crossing is where thousands of Palestinian workers cross daily to go their jobs inside Israel. This is the first day of the working week inside Israel. Three Palestinian gunmen disguised in Israeli army uniforms penetrated the small outpost, which was partly guarding the crossing point, and opened fire, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding another four before they themselves were killed by other Israeli troops who rushed to the scene.
Unusually, responsibility for this action is being claimed by three Palestinian groups, the leading groups that have taken part in the intifada uprising of the past two and a half years.
This is a challenge for Abbas who declared at last week's summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Bush in Aqaba, Jordan, that he intends to try and stop the armed intifada uprising and to talk the militants into accepting a cease-fire that would be -- he said -- in the Palestinians' interest.
He's still sticking to that position. A short while ago Abbas, popularly known as Abu Mazen, said, "We have no option but to negotiate to reach our goal. We shall do that. We want to calm the situation. We do not want civil war. No one can force us into an internal Palestinian conflict."
But Abbas has postponed a planned trip to Gaza from the West Bank to talk to the various militant factions. And now it seems that the focus, and indeed perhaps the pressure of the United States, would be on what Sharon would or would not do to meet his obligations under the terms of the so-called road map to peace.
Now it seems all the focus will be on this violent challenge launched by the Palestinian militant groups and how the Palestinian prime minister means to meet that challenge.
