JERUSALEM, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Within hours of a Hezbollah attack on Israel's northern border that left eight soldiers dead and two kidnapped, Israeli officials were already sounding the word of war and preparing themselves for a wartime government.

    A few hours after the attack, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the attack was clearly an "act of war."

    Olmert made it clear that Israel held Lebanon responsible for the attack, but officials in the Prime Minister's Office suggested that Israel's response could include Syria as well. In recent months, Israeli intelligence officials have been increasingly referring to an "axis of terror" between Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.

    Although there has been increased tension among Israeli cabinet ministers over their support for Olmert's convergence plan to withdraw from parts of the West Bank, the violence in the north appeared to reunite the officials under the prime minister.

    Following a cabinet meeting Wednesday midnight, Olmert convened several meetings with leaders from both the opposition and government parties, sparking rumors that Israel might create a national unity government. Such a government would include most of opposition parties that are currently serving in the Knesset, or the parliament, to give Olmert a broad basis of support.

    The first national unity government was formed in Israel when the Six Day War started in 1967. At that time, then Prime MinisterLevy Eshkol formed the government in order to strengthen his base of support to undertake the war.

    A similar government was formed in 1984, when the Labor Party outpolled Likud in the election, but did not have enough of a margin to form a government.

    At that time, Israel was in the midst of a military operation in Lebanon, and the two parties formed a national unity government.

    On Wednesday, parliament members in the opposition parties, Likud, Yisrael Beitenu, National Union-National Religious Party and United Torah Judaism called on Olmert to form a national unity government to secure public support.

    While Likud officials said that they were interested in joining the government, it was not clear whether the party would demand ministerial positions for their support. It also appeared that Likud would only join if Olmert took the convergence plan off the table.

    Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman and National Union leader Uri Ariel said they favored a national unity government because they wanted their parties to take part in shaping the government's response to the current crises.

    "The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has good and detailed plans of action, but the problem is the government's policy," Lieberman said. "The military response needs to be such that the perpetrators will regret ever having touched IDF soldiers."

    However, it was not yet clear how the parties already within the government would respond to a national unity government. Labor officials appeared hesitant to include right wing parties in the government, and rumors swirled that Olmert might push Labor Chairman Amir Peretz out of his position as defense minister causing Labor to leave the government altogether.

    Even if a national unity government does not form, political officials from across the political spectrum made nearly identical calls for a strong military response by Israel. Even the leader of the left-wing Meretz Party, Yossi Beilin, said that terrorist groups had no justification targeting Israel and that the government had to respond.

    Some parliament members from Likud urged the government to order the army to make Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria pay a heavy price for the kidnappings.

    "We can't have a situation in Lebanon where there is peace and quiet on one side and our soldiers are living in bunkers on the other," former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said. "We have to disarm Hezbollah. All the weapons that are being used come through Damascus. Damascus must know that we can not tolerate this. We must act immediately."

    Aryeh Eldad, parliament member from National Union-National Religious Party, said that Israel should launch an offensive in southern Lebanon.

    "In order to stop the threat Israel has to declare war in the north and in Gaza and to exterminate terror groups," Eldad said. Enditem