[Reuters] Adam Entous - A Hamas takeover of Gaza would deal a blow to a U.S. peace push founded on the premise that Mahmoud Abbas would be capable of reining in militants and Israel would embrace him as a partner. Some Israeli and Western officials saw the Hamas-led assault as a pre-emptive strike against U.S. plans to bolster Abbas' forces for a planned crackdown on cross-border rocket attacks into Israel and smuggling of weaponry to militant groups. Washington has long held that negotiations will go nowhere if Israel cannot be assured that Abbas can curb cross-border militant attacks, and the U.S. had just launched a nearly $60 million program to bolster Abbas' Presidential Guard.
2007-06-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive