Special report: Israel launches Gaza assault 

    RAMALLAH, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had intensified contact with all parties concerned to end the crisis triggered by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.

    Erekat told reporters that Abbas, who is currently in Gaza City, held phone conversations with U.S., European and Arab officials to end the crisis.

    "Although we have not received positive response from the international community over the issue, but we will keep knocking on all the doors that would lead to ending Israeli brutal offensive," said Erekat.

    Israel started a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in an effort to rescue the abducted soldier after Palestinian militants killed two Israeli soldiers and abducted a third one in a cross-border attack on an Israeli armypost southeast of the Gaza Strip three days earlier.Asked about Egypt's efforts to resolve the crisis, Erekat said,"The axis of Egyptian diplomatic moves is to avoid more Israeli attacks on the Palestinians."

    He condemned an Israeli arrest of eight Hamas-led cabinet ministers and 21 lawmakers, saying that "we reject Israel's blackmail and we ask for their immediate release." Enditem