ISRAEL SAYS there will no contact with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened the “forum of seven” senior ministers yesterday to consider the ramifications of Wednesday’s dramatic announcement in Cairo by representatives of rival factions Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls Gaza, of their intention to form a national unity government and hold elections within a year.
The Israeli ministers decided there would be no peace talks with the new unity government, expected to be formed in the coming weeks. A senior official said the policy would be reconsidered in the unlikely event that Hamas decided to recognise the Jewish state.
Earlier Mr Netanyahu had called on the Palestinian Authority (PA), headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, to decide if it wanted to make peace with Israel or Hamas. “There cannot be peace with both because Hamas wants to destroy Israel and says so openly. It shoots missiles at our cities, it fires anti-tank missiles at our children,” he said.
Israeli president Shimon Peres urged Mr Abbas not to sign the reconciliation agreement with Hamas. “The agreement between Fatah and the terrorist organisation of Hamas is a fatal mistake which will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and destroy the chances of achieving peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Hardline foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman made it clear the Cairo agreement crossed a red line as far as Israel was concerned. He warned a Hamas takeover of the West Bank was now just a matter of time. “One of the clauses of the agreement is the release of hundreds of Hamas prisoners from Palestinian jails, which would flood the West Bank with armed terrorists, and the Israel Defence Forces must prepare accordingly.”
Mr Lieberman raised the possibility that Israel might restrict the freedom of movement of Mr Abbas and freeze the transfer of tax funds to the PA.
Military sources adopted a wait and see attitude and noted the Palestinian factions had been close to reconciliation in the past but agreements had always broken down. However, they cautioned that if Hamas did form part of the Palestinian government then the close security co-operation in the West Bank between Israel and PA forces would come to an end.
The breakthrough in the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks, after more than four years of bitter rivalry, caught Israeli officials by surprise. Defence minister Ehud Barak admitted that the assessment of Israeli intelligence was that there was only a small chance of the factions agreeing.
In response to criticism, Mr Abbas adopted a moderate tone yesterday saying his government would continue to pursue peace negotiations. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a cautious welcome. “We have consistently called for reconciliation and peace under the authority of Mr Abbas as a way to end the division between the West Bank and Gaza.”
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