Israel vows to maintain 'active self-defense' policy

U.S. condemns Israeli attack on Nablus in which 8 died

A masked Palestinian hurls a stone toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in Ramallah on Wednesday

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli Cabinet voted Wednesday to continue its policy of an "active self-defense" despite heavy criticism of its bombing of a Hamas office in Nablus that resulted in eight deaths.

The Cabinet vote came as tens of thousands of impassioned Palestinians marched in funeral processions to mourn the deaths.

The eight -- including five Hamas members, two children and a news photographer -- were killed Tuesday when Israeli helicopters attacked.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said helicopter gunships attacked the office because Hamas militants who had conducted terrorist attacks in the past were planning a new attack.

There were indications Wednesday the Israeli attack also had unified Palestinian groups in their opposition to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Hussein a-Sheikh, a senior Fatah commander in the West Bank, said on Israel Radio the U.S.-brokered cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians had ended because of the strike.

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A-Sheikh said that Hamas, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority would now begin to cooperate in activities against Israel. A-Sheikh said that Fatah, the political movement tied to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, had received an order from the Palestinian Authority to engage in activities against Israel from all areas, including those under Palestinian control.

As part of the cease-fire agreement, Israel had pressed the Palestinian Authority to crack down on terrorist operations inside the area the authority controls.

In response to the cease-fire, Israel limited its response to attacks on Israelis but adopted the policy of an "active self-defense," which it says involves strikes against people planning terrorist acts.

The Palestinians have called the policy assassinations and the United States had condemned the policy as "targeted killings."

On Tuesday, a U.S. State Department spokesman called the Nablus attack a "new and dangerous" escalation of the violence. Spokesman Charles Hunter said the attack was "excessive" and "highly provocative and makes effort to restore calm much more difficult."

A spokesman for Sharon said that he would be calling leaders in the United States and Europe to explain Israel's decision to strike the Nablus Hamas office.

Hamas, a militant Islamic group, is the main political opposition to Arafat and his Fatah party. Israel has accused Hamas, which wants a Palestinian Islamic state, of being behind a number of terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Nadia Abu Khader is comforted by her husband and a relative after hearing her two sons were killed

Sheikh Ahmad Yasin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, vowed revenge Tuesday for the Nablus attack, saying "the Israeli people should know they will pay the price and our blood is not cheap."

Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security service, said it was beefing up security around Israeli officials because of the threat of revenge attacks.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said among those killed Tuesday in Nablus was Jamal Mansour, a senior Hamas leader. His brother, Omar Mansour, also died, the Red Crescent said.

In addition, two brothers -- Bilal Khalil and Ashraf Khalil, ages 10 and 8 -- were killed, Palestinians officials said, as they stood on a street in front of the building waiting for their father to pick them up after attending a summer camp.

In other developments, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said a 33-year-old Palestinian man had been killed in a clash with Israeli troops at Hebron.

The Israel Defense Forces said there had been firing in the area. They said one Jewish settler had been lightly injured.

A wounded Israeli civilian is transported to a Tel Aviv hospital after being wounded in an ambush outside Ramallah on Tuesday

A small pipe bomb exploded in a public park near the King David Hotel in west Jerusalem Wednesday, Israeli police said. There were no injuries and no damage.

Five Jewish settlers from Kiryat Sefer in the West Bank were injured Tuesday night when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on two cars, said an Israel Defense Forces spokesman. One woman was seriously injured. Two others suffered moderate injuries. The remaining two suffered minor injuries.