JERUSALEM, April 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Monday that Israel will not respond militarily to mortar shells by Palestinian militants in recent days, Ha'aretz daily reported.

    Speaking before the Knesset (parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Mofaz said the government's policy at this stage was to give Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas a chance.

    Mofaz said he had made it clear to Abbas in a phone conversation that Israel could ignore the mortar fire and Abbas had to act decisively to put an end to the fire.

    He said that Palestinian militant groups were taking advantage of a ceasefire to arm themselves before Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip.

    Since the killing of three Palestinian teens by Israeli soldiers on Saturday, Palestinian militants have fired some 80 mortar shells at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Enditem