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Israeli leaders brace for Hamas landslide
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-23 09:45
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with top military and political
officials Sunday to discuss the growing likelihood that the militant group Hamas
could dominate this week's Palestinian elections.
The ascendance of Hamas has alarmed Israel, which appears to have been caught
off guard by the group's surging popularity before Wednesday's vote. Hamas has
killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and remains committed to
Israel's destruction.
"What Israel has to do is the big question," Cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi
said before Sunday's meeting. "We have to think hard and explore all the
options."
The United States and European Union also have been scrambling to figure out
how to deal with Hamas. U.S. officials confirmed Sunday they have been directing
money to promote democratic parties in the election but denied the move was
aimed against Hamas.
Hamas, best known for its suicide attacks, has won over the Palestinian
public in its first run for the legislature by focusing on domestic concerns,
halting corruption and restoring law and order to the chaotic West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
In contrast, the ruling Fatah Party has been unable to shed its corrupt image
or overcome infighting. Recent opinion polls show the two movements running
even.
While some security officials privately support a dialogue with Hamas, top
leaders, including military chief Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz and Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz, say the group must disarm and revoke its charter calling for Israel's
elimination.
"Regarding the elections in the Palestinian authority, there are three
options: that Fatah wins, that Hamas wins or anarchy wins. One of these results
could put all progress back several years," Halutz told an academic conference
Sunday, apparently referring to Hamas and warning that violence could follow the
election.
Commentators said Olmert's meeting Sunday — which included the army chief,
head of the Shin Bet security agency, and the justice and defense ministers —
reflected a failure by Israel to detect Hamas' growing popularity, despite its
strong performance in Palestinian municipal voting in recent months.
"Their assumption was Fatah will handily win any election," said Mouin
Rabbani, an analyst with the International Crisis Group based in Jordan.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said he hopes Hamas would tame its
positions once it formally joins the political system, but other Fatah officials
sent mixed signals over whether they would work with the Islamic group.
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath, a top Fatah official, said Hamas
must accept the principle of peace with Israel if it wants to share power.
However, Fatah's top candidate, the jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan
Barghouti, said Sunday that "Hamas will be part and parcel of the Palestinian
Authority" after the vote. Barghouti was interviewed in an Israeli prison by the
Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera.
The United States and EU both consider Hamas a terrorist group, and both have
said millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians could be jeopardized.
"As a matter of policy, we don't deal with Hamas," said Stewart Tuttle, the
U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv. "If Hamas members win seats ... we are not
going to deal with those individuals."
The U.S. Agency for International Development has used a special $1.9 million
budget to promote democratic parties in the Palestinian election, said a U.S.
Consulate spokeswoman in Jerusalem, Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm.
She denied that the money, used in part to clean streets, distribute free
food and water and to help fund a youth soccer tournament, was used to boost
Fatah's prospects.
Behind the scenes, U.S. officials are considering the possibility of
distinguishing between Hamas legislators tied to violence and those who are not
— a position Israel rejects. European diplomats said they would decide what to
do after election results are in.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been plagued by chaos and lawlessness in
recent months, and some armed groups have threatened to disrupt the voting.
Visiting election commission offices on Sunday, Abbas was resolute. "Orders
have been issued to security forces to strike with an iron fist against anyone
who would try to sabotage this election," he said.
In other developments, an Israeli aircraft fired at three Palestinian gunmen
trying to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing one man and wounding two,
according to the army and Palestinian officials. The Popular Resistance
Committees, a tiny militant group not running in the election, vowed revenge.
Separately, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the battered Likud Party, said
Sunday that he would be willing to make "significant concessions" in a final
peace deal with the Palestinians if his party wins elections March 28.
However, he spelled out a tough negotiating line, saying Israel's final
borders would include east Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and other parts of the
West Bank — areas the Palestinians want for a future state — if a government run
by Netanyahu signs a peace accord with the Palestinians.
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