(Reuters) Some U.S. officials are worried that unilateral Israeli moves to relocate Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip will boost the standing of Palestinian extremists. The radical Hamas group could be expected to claim credit for the Israeli withdrawal and may become the "dominant" force in Gaza by undercutting an already weakened Palestinian Authority, the officials said. "That would be a real big negative for President Bush's vision of two states living in peace and security because the Hamas vision is one state with no Jews in it," one senior U.S. official said.
2004-02-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive