A chance has emerged for Israel to undermine its arch foe Hamas
by bolstering Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' grip on power
after a complete political split between Gaza and the West Bank,
Israeli prime minister said.
Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip makes Israel see a chance. "An
opportunity has emerged to genuinely advance the regional
diplomatic process," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a
summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The four-way summit between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,
Jordan's King Abdullah II, Abbas and Olmert was aimed at the
resumption of the Middle East peace process amid turmoil in the
Palestinian territories after Hamas seized control of the Gaza
Strip on June 14.
The Palestinians have been left with two governments - the new
emergency government in the West Bank and the Hamas rulers in
Gaza.
Israel and moderate Arab leaders have united in support of Abbas
and to isolate Hamas, a group pledged to Israel's destruction.
The Israeli position is clear: the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) headed by Abbas would receive full support, while
Hamas's regime in Gaza must be undermined in any possible way.
On the one hand, Olmert announced on Monday that he would seek
cabinet approval for the release of 250 Fatah prisoners held in
Israeli jails, describing it as a "goodwill gesture."
The Israeli cabinet decided on Sunday to recognize the Fatah
government and approved the release of part of hundreds of millions
of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues that Israel has withheld
since Hamas won Palestinian elections in January 2006.
On the other hand, Israel called on Mubarak to increase his
efforts to prevent arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip.
Israel, analysts said, expects those supportive measures could
turn Abbas into a powerful leader.
Besides the two measures, analysts said that there are not many
options for the Israelis to manage the situation at the present
stage.
Israel does not want to send its army into Gaza and the
crumbling Fatah forces are incapable of entering Gaza without
Israel's help.
As for political options, it seems unlikely to compromise with
Hamas in striking a deal on another national unity government.
Saudi Arabia, which helped broker the unity government between
Hamas and Fatah in February, said it would not mediate between the
two for another time.
In this context, it appears that the debate over the Gaza Strip
will mostly concentrate on tightening the siege and isolation of
the strip.
Right now, Israel is trying to consolidate Abbas' stance at all
costs in order to prevent him from resuming the partnership with
Hamas, and striving to make the Palestinians regard Abbas and his
Fatah government as the only hope of peace and a good life,
analysts said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2007)
