PALESTINE - Apr 8 - Truce Over If Mosques Attacked.

Leading militant groups vow renewed attacks on Israelis if Jewish ultra-nationalists enter a sensitive Jerusalem shrine from which Israeli police intend to bar them Apr 9. The eight factions issued the warning a day after Israel said it would ban non-Muslims from the site, revered by Muslims as Al Haram Al Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and by Jews as the Temple Mount, to prevent far-right Israelis rallying there. Several hardline lawmakers who had hoped to use their parliamentary status to get around the ban were told they too would be prohibited from visiting the mosque compound. Police have tightened security at the site amid fears that a rally scheduled for Apr 10 by thousands of ultra-nationalists seeking to stall Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza this summer could provoke violence with Muslims. In a statement, Palestinian militants said they would abandon a three-month-old de facto truce if "Zionist extremists storm the mosque compound ... Such an act would be a declaration of all-out war and the calm would come to an end". Thousands of Palestinians, including masked gunmen, marched in Gaza to back up the militants' threat. Palestinian Pres Mahmoud Abbas told reporters he had received assurances from Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz that security forces would prevent any attack on the compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City. Revava, the far-right group organising the rally, has pledged to go ahead anyway, saying its supporters would get as close to the holy site as possible but would be non-violent. The factions behind the warning included Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which have spearheaded suicide bombings and shooting attacks during a 4-1/ 2-year-old revolt. Hamas and Islamic Jihad aim to destroy Israel. Violence has abated dramatically in the West Bank and Gaza since a Feb 8 Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire summit, though Islamic Jihad carried out a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis in Tel Aviv on Feb 25. The ancient mosque compound is Islam's third holiest site. The Temple Mount is Judaism's most sacred site, the place where Jews say a biblical temple was razed by the Romans in 70 A.D. An attack on the compound could inflame Muslims worldwide and jeopardise US-backed efforts to revive Middle East peace talks. Apr 10 is the eve of a meeting between Israeli PM Ariel Sharon and Pres Bush in Texas. Palestinians began their uprising in 2000 after Sharon, then opposition leader, toured the compound under heavy security. Israel bars Jewish prayer in the compound to avoid aggravating tensions. But police restored access for Israelis and other non-Muslims in 2003 after a years-long security ban.