Palestinian Authority leadership candidate Mahmoud Abbas blasted Israel with extremely harsh words in reaction to the tank shell killings. “We came to you while praying for the souls of the martyrs who were killed today by the shells of the Zionist enemy in Beit Lahiya," Abbas said during a campaign rally in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the first time during the election campaign that Ariel Sharon’s hoped-for peace partner has referred to Israel as an enemy state.