Palestinian mourners carry the body of one of 9 Palestinians killed Thursday by the Israeli occupation army

CAIRO, December 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israel is torpedoing Cairo's efforts to get Palestinian resistance groups to calm their 27-month uprising, Egypt said Thursday, December 26, after the Israeli occupation army killed 9 Palestinians in the occupied territories, as the Israeli defense minister ordered his army to "turn up the heat" on the Palestinians.

"At a time when the Palestinians are trying with Egypt's help to reach an agreement for a calming down, Israel is fueling the cycle of violence," Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters after receiving a phone call from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

On Thursday, Israeli occupation forces killed at least nine Palestinians, injured 30 and abducted 20 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to AFP.

An Israeli army spokesman said Israeli forces killed another two Palestinians overnight in the old city of Nablus, in the West Bank, but Palestinian sources were unable to confirm the deaths, added the agency.

Cairo has hosted talks between President Arafat's mainstream resistance movement Fatah and the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, which are expected to resume shortly.

The talks are aimed at harmonizing Palestinian positions and reaching a ceasefire, even partial. 

Mofaz orders army to "turn up the heat" on Palestinians

Friends of murdered Mahdi Abu-Obied grieve Thursday in a Ramallah hospital

A day after Israeli forces shot dead at least nine Palestinians, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the army to "turn up the heat" on the Palestinians, Israeli public radio reported Friday, December 27.

Mofaz gave an order to "step up the pressure and act with all the force required" against Palestinians, the radio said.

The order was issued during a meeting between Mofaz, top brass and the Shin Beth internal security services held Thursday, it added.

Killing Palestinians part of Sharon’s election campaign

Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership blasted the latest killings by Israel and said the renewed violence was part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's campaign to get re-elected.

"We condemn the crimes committed by Ariel Sharon's government in order to serve his electoral aims and those of his Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz" ahead of the January 28 elections, the leadership said in a statement.

The Palestinian Information Minister also denounced the Israeli crimes.

"The crimes of Ariel Sharon are intended to inflame the region and distract attention from the scandals which are rocking Liukd," Yasser Abbed Rabo told AFP.

A criminal investigation is underway to determine whether some members of Sharon's Likud party paid their way onto the party's list of candidates for the January 28 elections.

The scandal has led to a dip in the party's popularity, even though it is still tipped to win the elections by a wide margin.