COLOMBO. May 4: Sri Lanka today handed sweeping new powers to the military and moved to restore diplomatic ties with Israel, a day after India ruled out aid for government troops facing a rout al the hands of Tamil Tiger rebels, reports AFP.

President Chandrika Ku-maratunga promulgated regulations under the Public Security Act allowing the state to confiscate private property and impound vehicles to protect national security, officials said.

The regulations also outlawed strikes, demonstrations and public protests deemed to be a threat to national security and tightened censorship of the local media.

The extraordinary measures. giving sweeping powers to the armed forces and the police, came as the government said it was placing the country on a "war footing" in reaction to a series of military reversals at

the hands of the rebels.

The laws went into effect from midnight Wednesday, shortly after neighbouring India ruled out Intervention to help government forces resisting the Tigers advances on the Jaffna peninsula in the north of the country.

The rebels last week overran the Elephant Pass base which guarded the entrance to the peninsula and are now advancing on Jaffna town.

The Tigers lost control of the peninsula, which they had previously run as a mini-state, to security forces in 1995.

As well as announcing the new national security measures. President Kuma'ratunga has ordered ministers to cut back non-essential development work, officials said.

Money from such projects In the next three months will be diverted to finance the war against the Tigers, officials said.

In another surprise move, the foreign ministry announced that Colombo has decided Io immediately re-establish diplomatic tics that were severed with Israel in the early 1970s.

State radio said the move will help Srl Lanka to benefit from the armaments industry of the Jewish state, which trained and advised local security forces between 1985 and 1990.

The Sri Lankan airforce and the navy are also using Israeli Kfir Jets and Dvora class gunboats. There was no Immediate reaction from Israel to the Srl Lankan announcement.

Officials said the new regulations banned "all activities designed to encourage terrorism and disrupt the normal activities of the people."

The new measures come on top of already tight legislation outlawing the separatist Libera-iion Tigers of Tamil Eelam

(LTTE) and strict censorship of local media reports on Hie country's drawn out separatist conflict.

Trade unions and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) expressed opposition to the new regulations which they termed draconian and an unacceptable Infringement on political freedoms In the country.

Sri Lanka Is already under a nation-wide state of emergency which allows security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods of time and carry out searches without court orders.

The government announced Wednesday that it will "lead the country on a war footing" to meet the threat posed by the LTTE

The move came after India ruled out sending troops and boats to help evacuate between 25,000 and 40.000 government troops from the peninsula.