JERUSALEM — The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has
decided to delay any substantive response to the Hamas takeover of the Palestinian
Authority.
Officials said Olmert decided that Israel would follow the United States
in formulating policy toward a Hamas-controlled PA, Middle East Newsline reported. They said Israel would
continue to help finance and engage with the PA as the Bush administration
consults with the European Union and other allies.
"Olmert will not do anything unilaterally," an official said. "The
United States pushed for Hamas participation and we will wait for guidance
from Washington as to a response."
"Israel preferred to cave in to U.S. pressure," said former Foreign Minister
Silvan Shalom. "The result is that Israel does not have a Palestinian
partner. Israel is in a very difficult position."
Israel and the United States were surprised by the Hamas victory,
officials said. They said Jerusalem and Washington expected Fatah to retain
a majority, with Hamas winning no more than 30 percent of PLC seats.
On late Thursday, Olmert convened his senior ministers and defense
officials to discuss the PA. Officials said the acting prime minister and
his aides were furious over the assessments by the intelligence community of
a Fatah victory.
"The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian
administration if its members include an armed terrorist organization that
calls for the destruction of the state of Israel," a statement by Olmert's
office said. "In any case, Israel will continue to fight terrorism with a
heavy hand, everywhere."
At the same time, officials reported a division between Olmert's senior
aides regarding Israeli policy toward the PA. They said several aides
criticized the Israeli decision to allow Hamas to campaign in PLC elections,
particularly in Jerusalem.
"We should have been able to say 'no' to the United States," an official
said. "Now, the United States can say it supported democracy, while we're
stuck with a Palestinian leadership sworn to our destruction."
So far, officials said, Olmert has rejected proposals for sanctions
against the PA, including halting Palestinian travel from the Gaza Strip to
the West Bank. Israel, through the transfer of tax proceeds, provides 50
percent of the PA budget. The European Union has been responsible for
ensuring most of the rest of the PA budget.
"It would be good if Israel waits to see what Hamas does," former Israel
Security Agency director Avi Dichter, an adviser to Olmert, said.
Officials said Olmert plans to continue funding the PA despite the Hamas
takeover. But they said the government would urge the international
community to link donor aid to the PA to a Hamas decision to renounce
violence.
The international community has pledged $3 billion to the PA over the
next three years. On Jan. 30, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was
scheduled to meet representatives from the EU, United Nations and Russia,
which comprise the so-called Quartet.
EU foreign ministers have scheduled a meeting for the same day to
discuss the response by the 25-nation bloc. Hamas has been cited on the
terrorist list of both the EU and United States.
"These [PLC election] results may confront us with an entirely new
situation which will need to be analyzed," EU foreign policy chief Javier
Solana said.
