Olmert talks tough on terrorists

Ehud Olmert vowed there would be no letup in Israel’s military campaign against Islamist terrorists in the Gaza Strip. “We will hit them and continue hitting them,” the Israeli prime minister said in a Knesset speech Tuesday, referring to Hamas and Islamic Jihad squads behind rocket launches from Gaza. Olmert said that in the coming days he would make an address to the Palestinian people “explaining to them that they are first and foremost the victims of the fanaticism of certain people in their midst.” Olmert is scheduled to meet June 7 with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been trying to coax Hamas and other Gaza factions into holding their fire.