JERUSALEM (AP) – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that Israel's military offensive in the West Bank would continue until Palestinian militias have been crushed.
Sharon, who has been under growing U.S. pressure to withdraw troops from Palestinian cities, spoke after receiving word that 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin on Tuesday.
"It was a tough campaign, a campaign that we are continuing ... until we will fulfill the decision of the Cabinet that calls for the destruction of the infrastructure of the terror groups," Sharon said in remarks broadcast on Israel Television.
"This is a battle for the survival of the Jewish people, for survival of the state of Israel," Sharon said.
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