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Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said the attack on the office of Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh was "a clear warning." (AP file)
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| By Associated Press July 2, 2006 |
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Israel's vice premier on Sunday called an Israeli missile attack on the Palestinian prime minister's office a "clear warning" to free a kidnapped Israeli soldier.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said the attack on the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh came "in the middle of the night" on Sunday, when Israeli officials knew Haniyeh would not be present.
"It was a clear warning that he has to stop this double behavior," Peres told CNN's Late Edition. "Either it's a government with all the responsibilities of a government, or it's a terrorist organization, with all the consequences that stem from it."
Israeli aircraft, tanks and naval gunboats have been pounding Gaza for the past week in an effort to win the freedom of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, seized in a cross-border raid. Thousands of troops were also sent into the coastal strip for Israel's first ground invasion since exiting Gaza nine months ago.
Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, took power after winning January parliamentary elections.
"We are trying to topple down the policies of this so-called government, which are policies of terror," Peres said. "The fact that they were once elected doesn't give them a license to shoot, to kill, to endanger, to kidnap Israeli people."
Hamas has a military wing and a political wing, and its political leadership is divided between more moderate elements in the West Bank and Gaza, and the more radical top leadership based in Syria.
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