Israel exerts diplomatic, military pressure on Hamas

By Adam Entous

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel stepped up pressure on the
Hamas-led Palestinian government on Sunday, severing all direct
contacts with what it deemed a “hostile entity” and firing
shells into Gaza to combat rocket attacks by militants.

A statement from interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s
office outlining the new guidelines said Israel would shun
foreign officials who meet Hamas members during visits to the
region.

Hamas Planning Minister Samir Abu Eisha said Israel’s
decision would have a strong impact on the Palestinian
government’s ability to provide health and education services
in the occupied West Bank, where coordination with Israeli
authorities is often necessary.

Israel is concerned Hamas’s contacts with Russia, China and
other countries would undercut a boycott spearheaded by
Washington to weaken the Islamic militant group.

“Israel will have no contact with the Palestinian
Authority, which is a hostile entity, and will work toward
preventing any entrenchment of the Hamas government’s rule,”
the Israeli statement said.

But the communique, issued after a security cabinet
meeting, did not rule out “personal” contacts with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction was crushed by
Hamas in parliamentary elections in January.

The statement added, however, that Israel regarded the
Palestinian Authority that Abbas chairs as a single entity,
making clear that opening a separate peacemaking channel with
him, bypassing Hamas, was not an option.

HEAVY STRIKES

In the Gaza Strip, Israel kept up its heaviest strikes in
the territory since election victor Hamas took control of the
Palestinian Authority in late March.

The army said it was targeting sites used by militants to
fire makeshift rockets into Israel. Several of the projectiles
were launched on Sunday, causing no casualties.

Palestinian security sources said one Israeli artillery
shell landed on a small security base east of Beit Hanoun and
another close to a school, empty at the time, in the northern
town. In another barrage, a shell set a mattress factory
ablaze.

One civilian was killed and 17 people, civilians and
policemen, were wounded, the sources said. Israeli air strikes
and artillery barrages have killed 15 Palestinians, mainly
militants, since Friday.

Near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers shot
dead an armed Palestinian militant in a gun battle while trying
to detain him, the army said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday
that recent Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip were excessive
and disproportionate, and would lead to further violence.

Olmert, who won elections last month on pledges to impose
final borders with or without Palestinian agreement, said there
were no curbs on the army to respond to rocket fire.

“Anyone who fires a rocket and anyone who participates in
terror acts will be dealt with without hesitation,” Olmert told
his cabinet.

Hamas is sworn to destroy Israel but has largely abided by
a year-old ceasefire that other militant groups have ignored.

Israel has vowed not to negotiate with Hamas unless it
recognizes the Jewish state’s right to exist, renounces
violence and accepts interim peace deals. Hamas says talks with
Israel would be futile.

Palestinian political analyst Hani Habib said Hamas faced a
dilemma.

“It is neither able to feed the people nor defend them,” he
said, referring to decisions by Israel, the United States and
the European Commission to halt direct aid to the new
government.

While Israeli officials described the prohibition on
dealings with the Palestinian government as a blanket ban,
Israeli sources said contacts would be permitted in cases of
humanitarian emergencies, such as combating bird flu.

Israel also said it would not block humanitarian aid from
reaching the Palestinian people, so long as it did not go
directly to the Hamas-led administration.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Megan
Goldin, Corinne Heller and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem)