The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday that Israel was "very close" to deciding on what action to take to stop continued rocket attacks by militants from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

"Under no circumstances can we allow the situation in the south (of Israel) to continue the way it has in recent months, and the crossroads on a decision on how things will be handled is very close," Olmert said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

He declined to go into details, amid calls from some ministers for Israel to launch a widescale assault on Gaza following a rocket attack on a shopping mall in the southern city of Ashkelon on Wednesday just as US President George W Bush was visiting Israel.

Bush, who is on a five-day trip to the region, on Sunday again accused the Islamist movement Hamas which has ruled the Gaza Strip since June of continuing a policy of terror.