Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ruled out the release of more Palestinian prisoners until the Palestinian Authority moved against militants, hardening his line toward President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel freed 500 jailed Palestinians on Feb. 21 as part of a pledge to release 900 prisoners in a goodwill gesture toward the moderate Abbas after the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

A senior Israeli government official said Sharon set new conditions for freeing prisoners, telling his cabinet on Sunday: ?Let it be clear, there will be no prisoner release before steps are taken against terror.? ?Everyone asks me to strengthen Abu Mazen, but I tell them, not at the expense of Israeli lives,? Sharon, using Abbas?s popular name, was quoted by the official as saying.

?The Palestinians are doing nothing about this issue. It would be a mistake of the first order to make even the smallest concession on security. We cannot give them the opportunity to wage a continuous campaign of fire toward Jewish communities.?

<B>Risk of collapse</B>

Abbas is under enormous domestic pressure to secure freedom for 8,000 prisoners, among the most emotive issues for ordinary Palestinians, many of whom have relatives in Israeli jails and see their release as a sign of peace and goodwill.

Last month, Hamas militants said the ?period of calm? agreed in March under pressure from Abbas was at risk of collapse unless Israel carried out its pledge to free the 400.Since the summit, an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber has killed five Israelis and Jewish settlements in Gaza have come under rocket and mortar fire from militants who did not agree with the de facto ceasefire or said it was in retaliation against Israel. Israeli troops have killed 15 Palestinians and continued raids to capture wanted gunmen during the same period.

Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Minister Sofian Abu Zaydeh told Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni during a meeting on the prisoners on Sunday: ?We are still building the Palestinian Authority and Israel should be patient. Not releasing prisoners will damage the peace process and will affect the Palestinian public?s trust toward Abu Mazen.? But the meeting ended without agreement on a timeline for the release of the 400 inmates or on a date for further talks.

Abbas, while pledging an ?iron fist? against ceasefire violators, has said he wants to co-opt rather than confront militant groups to avoid civil strife. Since the de facto truce was reached, violence that has raged for the past four years in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has dropped sharply.

Complaining that Abbas had not done enough, Israel suspended the handover of more West Bank cities to Palestinian security control after accusing the Palestinian leader of failing to disarm fugitives in two towns transferred in March.In central Gaza on Sunday, Fatah militants operating beyond Abbas?s control forcibly closed election offices registering voters for a parliamentary election this summer.The gunmen said they were protesting at what they called rigged victories by Hamas in local elections last week, although foreign observers said the vote was free and fair. Abbas has been struggling to rein in lawless Fatah militants.

<B>Jeffrey HELLER</B>

Palestinians denied entry to a flashpoint Jerusalem shrine stoned Israeli police yesterday, injuring seven, before being dispersed by stun grenades, witnesses and police officials said. The protest erupted over rumours Jewish ultranationalists would try to enter the shrine, revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as Temple Mount, to stoke violence aimed at derailing Israel?s planned pullout from Gaza. Some 500 Palestinians slept overnight at al-Aqsa Mosque in the compound inside Jerusalem?s walled Old City for fear rightist Jews might try to push their way in, witnesses said. Far-right Jews denied any immediate intent to do so. But disturbances broke out when 200 more Palestinians appeared at an Old City gate on Monday to make their way to the shrine and were barred by Israeli police. Protesters hurled stones at police in the melee, injuring seven, a police spokesman said.