Palestinians suspend peace talks with Israel

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian leaders announced Sunday they have suspended peace talks with Israel until the Jewish state halts its military operation in Gaza -- something that Israeli officials have said they have no intention of doing.

"Following what happened yesterday, peace talks are halted until the Israeli aggression stops," Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said Sunday.

"That is the decision which the President [Mahmoud Abbas] adopted and so Israel should know that this aggression won't just pass and the continuous Israeli provocation and aggression upon the Palestinian people won't lead to peace."

Israel is responding to ongoing rocket fire from Palestinian militants in Gaza "deliberately and continuously target(ing) civilian population centers," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told CNN.

"Did they really expect that Israel would sit by as a government and do nothing while they send rocket after rocket into civilian areas in Israel trying to kill our people?"

The Israeli military carried out three airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday; one of the strikes targeted the Gaza City home of a slain militant responsible for manufacturing rockets, according to Palestinian security sources.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

When asked if a broader Israeli ground offensive was imminent, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday, "I cannot share with you if it is imminent, but it's clearly something real and tangible that could await us down the stream."

Ten Palestinians -- including a Palestinian police officer and a girl -- died Sunday from Israeli ground and air operations in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian security and medical sources in Gaza.

The two-day death toll in Gaza has surpassed 70, with most of the deaths occurring on Saturday, the deadliest day of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in a year. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed during Saturday's military operations.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired at least 25 rockets toward Israel on Sunday; two civilians sustained minor injuries in the attacks, according to the Israeli military.

Hundreds of Palestinians took to streets in the West Bank and northern Gaza to protest the Israeli military operations. A 14-year-old Palestinian was killed Sunday in a clash with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Hebron, Palestinian medical sources said. Watch as condemnation mounts »

The White House has called for an end to the fighting, and has expressed regret for the loss of life on both sides, spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. But he made it clear that "there is a clear distinction between terrorist rocket attacks that target civilians and action in self-defense."

Nevertheless, Johndroe reiterated the U.S. position on Sunday, saying, "The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stressed to his cabinet on Sunday that "Israel has no intention of halting counter-terrorism actions, even for a second."

"If somebody thinks that, by extending the rockets' range, he will succeed in deterring us from our activity, he is gravely mistaken," Olmert said.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Israel must "halt military escalation in Gaza" if it wants peace talks to resume.

"If the Israeli government thinks through escalation and military solution they will acquire peace and security, they're wrong," Erakat said.

While Palestinian leaders "do not condone firing of missiles on Israeli civilians under [any] circumstances," Erakat said both sides must "begin the process of deescalation ... because things are really getting out of hand."

Palestinian leaders decided Sunday to suspend peace talks with the Israelis "for the time being" in an effort to relay the message to the Israelis that "if you want to talk, let us talk, [but] not through guns and bullets and missiles," Erakat said.

Palestinian and Israeli delegations had only recently begun discussions regarding the core issues in their conflict: Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel and Jerusalem as the shared capital of a future Palestinian state, among other topics.

The talks were a result of a major push by outgoing U.S. President George Bush, who hopes to help broker a Mideast peace agreement before he leaves office next January. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Shira Medding contributed to this report.

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