"This crosses a red line for us," Mofaz told The New York Times in an interview published on Tuesday ahead of talks in Washington with US officials.

He said members of the Palestinian military intelligence had helped smuggle several shoulder-fired Strela missiles into Gaza and ordered a top Israeli commander to meet Palestinian military intelligence agency chief Mussa Arafat to demand that both the smugglers and the weapons be turned over to Israel.

While the missiles can be used against low-flying aircraft such as helicopters, Israeli experts said they can be dealt with by most Israeli aircraft.

Mofaz said the incident showed the limited influence of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, over the competing Palestinian security services.

"It's a one-man show," Mofaz said. "There's a big gap between Abu Mazen's intentions and what we see in the field. All the others continue to act in the same way as before."

He said that while Israel has kept promises made at a February summit between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the Palestinians have not rounded up more than four dozen fugitives sought by Israel in Jericho and Tulkram.

"They've had Jericho back for two weeks and Tulkarm more than one week, and we don't see them dealing with the fugitives, as we agreed," Mofaz said.

In particular, Mofaz added, "we don't feel there is a change in the Palestinian security groups fighting against terrorism," adding that there was a lot of internal disagreement about who should be in command.

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