Israel's Olmert says will respond to Gaza gunmen

JERUSALEM, Apr 29 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today Israel would take measures to stop Palestinian militants firing rockets from the Gaza Strip or attempting to infiltrate the Jewish state.

Olmert told cabinet ministers at a weekly session Israel ''cannot ignore'' the shootings.

''We are not interested in an escalation but will by no means refrain from taking the necessary steps to stop those who try to harm Israeli residents in the south,'' Olmert said. He did not spell out which measures he would take.

Israel decided last week to step up pinpointed strikes against Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip, while ruling out a major incursion into the coastal strip Israel withdrew forces from in 2005 after a 38-year occupation.

Violence at the Israeli-Gaza frontier has increased in recent days, since militants of the ruling Hamas faction broke a five-month ceasefire last week after Israel killed nine Palestinians in consecutive clashes in the occupied West Bank.

Soldiers killed three Palestinian gunmen from Hamas in a clash near the Gaza border fence today.

REUTERS KK PM1545