Israel to Palestinians: We'll stop shooting if you do

An Israeli soldier enters a tank near the Israeli side of the Gaza border. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The Arab League plans to ask for a no-fly zone over GazaPrime Minister Netanyahu says a teen hit in a bus attack is fighting for his lifeNetanyahu warns that Israel will strike back hard if attacks continueAt least 18 Palestinians have died in Israeli strikes since the Hamas attack on the bus Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that Israel was willing to stop attacks on Gaza if the Palestinians stop firing into southern Israel.

"If they stop firing at our communities, then we will stop firing. If they stop firing altogether, then there will be quiet," Barak said in an interview on Israel Radio.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned shortly afterward that the converse was also true.

"Our policy is clear. If attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli soldiers continue, the response will be very harsh," he said before the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.

Barak's offer comes after a particularly intense few days of hostilities following a Hamas rocket attack on an Israeli bus that left a teenager critically wounded on Thursday.

Netanyahu said Sunday the victim, Daniel Wiliech, "is fighting for his life. We, along with the entire nation, pray for him."

Israel responded with a series of strikes on Gaza that has left at least 18 people dead, the largest number since a major Israeli incursion into the territory in 2008-09 in response to Palestinian rocket attacks.

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