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Peres: Roadmap in question if Hamas in PA leadership (AP file photo)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners December 31, 2005 |
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Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel Radio Saturday that if Hamas were to win control of the Palestinian Authority in the elections scheduled for January, the future of the road map would be in question. A Hamas victory, Peres explained, would put international aid to the PA at risk, because "no nation would assist an armed terror organization."
Israeli media said that the Israeli government was appointing a committee of ministers to decide its stand in the event that Hamas is successful in the upcoming election.
The consultations are to be headed by Dov Weisglass, chief adviser to Ariel Sharon, and are expected to include defence, foreign ministry and Shin Bet officials, the radio said.
Meanwhile, the militant Islamic Jihad and several armed groups with ties to the ruling Fatah movement said Saturday they won't necessarily observe a truce with Israel in 2006.
The limited cease-fire, negotiated in March, expires Saturday, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian mediators are trying to win an extension. The Islamic militant Hamas has largely stuck to the agreement, as part of what has been portrayed as Hamas' gradual transformation into a political party.
The smaller Islamic Jihad never laid down its arms and carried out a series of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel in recent months. Islamic Jihad claimed it was committed to the truce in 2005, and that the attacks were retaliation for perceived Israeli truce violations.
In a statement Saturday, Islamic Jihad said: "We reaffirm that the official end of the truce agreed to in Cairo last March comes at midnight on Saturday." It was not clear whether the group would participate in talks on extending the cease-fire.
At least two of several dozen armed groups affiliated with Fatah also noted that the cease-fire expires Saturday.
Ala Sanakra, a local leader of Fatah gunmen in the West Bank's Balata refugee camp, said a truce should not be extended unless Israeli troops withdraw from all of the West Bank.
In Gaza, a statement of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades said Israeli strikes in Gaza "blew up any truce" and called on all groups to try to carry out suicide attacks against Israel.
Hamas says "no" to negotiations with Israel, "yes" to terror
Hamas, which like Islamic Jihad is sworn to destroying Israel, has not announced whether it will resume attacks after the truce expires, but says it is no longer feel bound to adhere to it.
"Hamas and Qassam (the armed wing) will deal with any Zionist attack against our people in a suitable manner and in that way preserve the election process and preserve Palestinian blood," said a Hamas spokesman.
"The truce is dead. By continuing its assassinations and occupation, Israel killed it long before it actually expired," said Abu Qusai, a spokesman. "The formula is bombardment for bombardment and targeting civilians for targeting civilians."
The political chief of Hamas said on Friday the organization would participate in upcoming legislative elections but would not negotiate with Israel, vowing to continue its armed struggle against the Jewish State.
"We will enter the parliament and (engage in) political work ... without giving up one inch of Palestine," Khaled Mashaal said in a speech marking the 18th anniversary of the founding of Hamas.
The Islamic movement is fielding candidates for the first time in Palestinian parliamentary elections slated for Jan. 25 and has done well in several rounds of local voting.
The group, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, appears poised to make a strong showing against the Palestinians' long-ruling mainstream Fatah Party in the election.
Israel has threatened to ban voting in the election if the Palestinian Authority does not prevent Hamas from running.
"This is our right," Mashaal told crowds at the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. He said he rejected U.S. and other demands to disarm and said: "We will show America, Israel and the international community... . We insist on combining the resistance with politics without compromising."
"We will engage in politics in another language, without necessarily negotiating with the enemy," he said.
Mashaal said his group would not stop its armed resistance until all the territory claimed by the Palestinians is free from Israeli occupation.
"Nobody in the world can take away our arms or our right to resistance," he said.
"We stand by our weapons and our choice to resistance as a strategic choice until the last inch of Palestinian territory is liberated and until the last (Palestinian) refugee returns to Palestinian territory," he added.
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