Abbas tells militants at campaign rally he will not abandon them

DEIR EL-BALAH, Gaza Strip - Mahmoud Abbas, the leading candidate for Palestinian president, called on militants Sunday to stop firing rockets at Israel, as Israeli tanks and troops massed in northern Gaza in response to the latest barrage.

A poll released Sunday showed Abbas with the backing of two-thirds of his people, three times the support of his nearest rival before a Jan. 9 election to replace Yasser Arafat. Still, the candidate with the gray, bureaucratic image spent the day courting those who have disparaged him in the past - young militants.

As Israeli tanks gathered nearby, Abbas expressed his support for the gunmen - viewed as resistance heroes by Palestinians and as terrorists by Israel - at a campaign rally at a school in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya.

However, he also criticized the rocket fire.

"Don't let your actions be used as an additional pretext and excuse for them (Israel) to fight us, because this is not the proper time for such actions," Abbas said.

The Israelis sent forces into northern Gaza on Sunday after Palestinian militants fired mortars at the Erez industrial zone next to the main Gaza-Israel checkpoint and rockets at Sderot, a town just outside the Gaza fence, wounding several Israelis.

The military said the goal was to stop the rocket and mortar fire. But after nightfall, the military pulled back to positions overlooking northern Gaza, the military said.

The new raid came as Israeli troops pulled out of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, ending a three-day operation to target militants firing the homemade rockets and mortars at Jewish settlements.

The army said it killed 13 armed Palestinians during the three-day operation. Palestinian security officials put the number of dead at 11 and said nine of them were armed.

Israel is planning to pull out of Gaza in the summer, but violence is expected to escalate. Palestinian militants are trying to show they are forcing the Israelis out, while Israel wants to deal a blow to the violent groups to keep them in check during the pullout and afterward.