(Ha'aretz) Aluf Benn - Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told U.S. envoy David Welch on Thursday that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will be required to present a detailed plan for dismantling militant organizations on the day after the Palestinian parliamentary elections. "Excuses are over," Mofaz said, adding the plan must include a schedule for the measures to be taken against these groups. He said that Israel would allow the PA elections to be held in an orderly way, including in eastern Jerusalem, as long as Hamas does not participate in the poll. Mofaz warned that should a victorious Hamas seek to join the Palestinian government after the elections, there would be no room for any dialogue with Israel as long as Hamas remained a terror organization. Mofaz also said that a plan to allow the passage of Palestinian convoys from Gaza to the West Bank could not be implemented because of attempts to smuggle capabilities for the production of Kassam rockets.
2006-01-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive