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Offensive Pushes Hamas Government Near Collapse
(Reuters) Matthew Tostevin - With most ministers either in hiding or in the hands of Israeli forces on Thursday, the Hamas-led Palestinian government functioned in little more than name. The Israeli offensive aimed at bringing home a captured soldier threatens to finish off the Islamist militant group's attempt at elected government. "Our goal here is defensive. It's to stop the terrorism. It is not to nation-build on the Palestinian side," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. The collapse of the Hamas government would bring few tears in Israel or the U.S.-led countries that have imposed an aid embargo to force Hamas to recognize Israel, renounce violence, and accept past peace accords. PA Chairman Abbas and his Fatah movement, caught in a power struggle with the Islamists, would also be happy to see Hamas brought down. Some Hamas officials actually argue that the latest violence could be used as a valid excuse to step down from a government that had already been brought to the edge of collapse by the Western aid cuts. "Since day one, we have known that this government will not finish its term," said one senior Hamas official. This could also suit some within its military wing who would be happy to resume an all-out campaign of suicide bombings, shootings, and rocket attacks that was put on hold by a truce early in 2005.