Dealing with Hamas

By Tzippe Barrow

CBN News- Jerusalem Bureau

April 26, 2007

CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Reactions to Tuesday morning's rocket and mortar attacks on Israel by Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip have run the gamut both within Israel and outside the country.

There's been widespread speculation as to the terror group's modus operandi behind the attack.

Wednesday, following a three-hour meeting with IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-General Gabi Ashkenazi, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, the prime minister's office stated that it "viewed the terror activities carried out by Hamas in recent weeks with great severity."

In an opinion piece posted on YNet, Israeli military analyst Ron Ben-Ishai called Tuesday's attack "a highly calculated strategic move meant to achieve far-reaching military and diplomatic objectives." He noted that the attack was "carried out with Iran's encouragement and blessing."

U.N. Security Council

At the U.N. Security Council's monthly meeting in New York, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Gillerman, called the attacks a "severe provocation."

"These attacks, which came as Israelis woke up to celebrate Independence Day, were nothing short of an act of severe provocation," said Gillerman, noting that since the declaration of a cease-fire five months ago, Israelis in the western Negev have lived under a daily threat of rocket attacks.

"Since the cease-fire began at the end of November 2006, Israel has continually exhibited restraint to the more than 200 rockets fired at it by Palestinian terrorists," he said.

"Israel needs no further evidence to know that Hamas' ways are not the ways of peace. Hamas has shown it will not stop its campaign of terror until its unholy ambitions of destroying Israel are fulfilled. Nothing-no initiates, summits, or declarations-can take the place of an end to Palestinian terror," Gillerman said.

Egyptian Mediation

On Thursday, an Egyptian security official, Major General Burhan Hammad, told Israel that Palestinians would renew the cease-fire from Gaza if the IDF ended its operations in the "West Bank."

Hamad and a delegation of Egyptian security officials met with representatives of Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in Gaza City Tuesday night to urge them to stop the rocket attacks in order to avoid a renewed offensive by Israel in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Egyptian Intelligence Chief General Omar Suleiman warned PA Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that should Israel launch an offensive in response to the rocket attacks, Egypt would not side with the Palestinians.

Undermining the PA Chairman

There is continued speculation that Hamas wants to undermine PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, particularly prior to the upcoming weekend meeting between Abbas and exiled Hamas politburo Khaled Mashaal in Cairo.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Hamas wants to join the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Mashaal is looking to be the PLO's deputy chairman.

"The meeting is supposed to focus on the possibility of including Hamas in the PLO. Mashaal wants to be deputy chairman of the PLO. At the meeting, Hamas will agree to a cease-fire with Israel on condition that Mashaal is appointed to a senior position in the PLO. This is extortion," said a senior PA official.

Sources: YNet, The Jerusalem Post

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