Haaretz
Tevet 27, 5766
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
on Thursday evening that a Palestinian Authority led by Hamas is "not a
partner" in peace.
"If a government led by Hamas or in which Hamas
is a coalition partner is established, the Palestinian Authority will be
turned into an authority that supports terror. Israel and the world will
ignore it and make it irrelevant," Olmert said.
The Hamas victory
in Wednesday's election to the Palestinian parliament elicited harsh
responses from Israeli politicians in the lead-up to March?s Knesset
elections. The right wing attacked Kadima and blamed the party for the
Hamas victory while Labor and Meretz are bolstering their calls for
unilateral moves.
Olmert urged patience and suggested waiting for
post-election developments on the Palestinian side. At the same time, he
maintained the PA must fulfill its obligations and said Israel will
continue its war against terrorism.
The acting prime minister
spoke during a consultation with security chiefs, Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
The intelligence analysis
presented at the meeting suggests that Hamas will, in the short term,
maintain the period of calm. However, defense figures expressed concern
that various Fatah factions disappointed by the election results will take
out their frustration by executing terror attacks.
Mofaz also met
with top security officials Thursday morning to discuss the election
results.
Netanyahu: 'Hamastan' has been created before our
eyes
Responding to Hamas' victory in the Palestinian Legislative
Council elections, Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that,
"The state of 'Hamastan' has been created before our eyes - an Iranian
satellite state in the image of the Taliban. It was created in close
proximity to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion International Airport. We
need to do some soul-searching, because the writing was on the wall. A
policy of unilateral withdrawal rewarded Hamas terror."
Earlier
Thursday, Likud said that the Hamas victory was a direct result of the
disengagement plan and that Palestinians concluded from the Gaza pullout
that terror and violence are the means to achieving diplomatic gains.
"The plan by Kadima and Labor for an additional unilateral
withdrawal from the West Bank reflects a complete blindness to reality.
[Acting Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and Kadima are establishing a Hamas
terror state that will be an Iranian offshoot, only a few kilometers from
Israeli population centers," according to Likud.
"Today it is clear
that when Israel flees, Hamas rises. Olmert and Kadima's continued
unilateral withdrawals will harm the personal security of each and every
one of us," MK Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) said.
"Senior Hamas official
Mahmoud al-Zahar should send a large bouquet of flowers to Ehud Olmert,
who opted to give up in the war on terror," MK Effi Eitam (National Union)
said.
Likud MK Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio that the Israeli
government made a grave mistake by allowing the Palestinian parliamentary
elections take place with Hamas' participation.
Steinitz described
the purported results as an "earthquake," and said they reflected Israel's
"tragic failure" in its war against Hamas.
Steinitz, who is
chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that
Israel could have prevented Hamas' success, a terror organization whose
goal is to destroy Israel, by preventing the vote from taking place even
at the price of a confrontation with the United States.
"These
elections contradict the Oslo Agreement and contradict democracy,"
he
said.
Peretz: Hamas victory may lead to further unilateral
moves
Labor Chairman Amir Peretz said Thursday that Hamas' victory
in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections may lead Israel to
implement further unilateral measures.
Speaking in the Knesset,
Peretz said that he would not conduct negotiations with Hamas. "We will
not conduct negotiations with an organization that does not recognize
Israel's right to exist," he said. "If we have to, we will implement
unilateral moves. We will not agree to a diplomatic stalemate. The changes
in the Palestinian Authority will not hold us hostage," he said.
The Labor Party's recently published platform states that
negotiations are preferable, but does not rule out unilateral moves.
"We have no intention of allowing negotiations to take place, or
let someone else force us to recognize an organization that declares it
seeks to destroy Israel," Peretz said.
The Labor chairman also
said Hamas is not a partner, saying that it undermines stability in the
Middle East.
Peretz added that the new reality requires the U.S.
and European countries to clarify their stance.
"We have nothing to
talk about with Hamas. But if Hamas recognizes our right to exist, we will
reevaluate. Hamas, as it is today, is unprepared to alter a word in its
platform," Labor MK Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said.
Beilin: Gaza
pullout strengthened Hamas
The chairman of the leftist Meretz
party, Yossi Beilin, said Thursday that the election results still
provided a chance for an agreement with moderate Palestinians. He called
on Olmert to immediately launch peace talks with PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas.
Beilin told Israel Radio that Israel was to blame for the
strengthening of Hamas. "Israel has a large role in weakening the
Palestinian Authority and strengthening Hamas," Beilin said.
"The
unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, not as a part of an agreement
with Abu Mazen, greatly strengthened Hamas," he said.
Beilin also
warned that if Israel and the PA fail to reach an agreement soon, Hamas
will win in the next elections.
Peres: Hamas will face end to
int'l aid
Former prime minister Shimon Peres said Thursday morning
that Hamas will have to deal with the termination of international aid to
the Palestinians.
Olmert's office said Wednesday that the acting
premier believes Israel cannot trust a Palestinian leadership in which
Hamas has a role.
"Israel can't accept a situation in which Hamas,
in its present form as a terror group calling for the destruction of
Israel, will be part of the Palestinian Authority without disarming,"
Olmert told U.S. Senator Joseph Biden in a meeting Wednesday, according to
Olmert's office. "I won't hold negotiations with a government that does
not stick to its most basic obligation of fighting terror."
Israel
is willing to help the Palestinians and Abbas "a great deal" but only if
they crack down on terror groups, Olmert said.
Israel has
repeatedly asked Abbas to force Hamas and other militant groups to disarm
but Abbas has refused, warning such an act could cause civil
war.