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Israel exerts diplomatic, military pressure on Hamas

Posted on: Sunday, 9 April 2006, 14:28 CDT

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)

Source: REUTERS

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