Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz agreed to provide a limited amount of weapons and ammunition for the Palestinian presidential guard in light of growing threats to president Mahmoud Abbas' life, local TV Channel 2 reported Thursday.

Olmert and Peretz reached the decision prior to the prime minister's departure for the United States earlier this week, the report said.

The arms will be transferred to the guard via a third-party state, senior defense sources said on Thursday, adding that protecting Abbas is the sole purpose.

The sources added that the third party may be either Egypt or Jordan.

This was the first time that Israel took an active role in the clashes between Hamas members and Palestinian security forces started a week ago, and was seen as a response to the continued strengthening of Islamic organizations, which have managed to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.

"In the Gaza Strip, an industry of weapons and ammunition smuggling continues to expand, most of which is reaching the Islamic organizations," said a defense source who took part in consultations with Peretz.

"We need to enable Abu Mazen (Abbas) to deal with (the groups). " the source added.

A similar proposal to transfer arms to Abbas has been on the agenda for months, but it was not given the green light by Peretz's predecessor, Shaul Mofaz.

Two weeks ago, Israel's Ha'aretz daily reported that the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) formulated a plan to assassinate Abbas by placing a car bomb alongside the road on which Abbas' convoy was believed to frequently travel.

Islamic Jihad dismissed the report as an attempt by Israel to sow dissension among the Palestinian factions.

Likud member of parliament Yuval Steinitz criticized the decision, saying Israel's acquiescence to the arms transfer is a " wretched" decision.

"What Abu Mazen is missing is not weapons, but determination and will for a war against terrorism," Steinitz said.

Source: Xinhua