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Sharon: Ball in Palestinian Court

(Ynet News) Diana Bahur-Nir - Prime Minister Sharon told the cabinet Sunday that "the message we conveyed during our meetings (at the UN) was that we need to focus on Gaza in order to ensure that the pre-disengagement process is successful." "The responsibility for what happens in Gaza has been passed on from Israel to the Palestinians. They have to prove themselves capable to succeed in Gaza," Sharon said. "We warned that Israel views the participation of Hamas in the elections under the current conditions as a threat. This reality contradicts the Road Map and our understandings with the Palestinians. We said that Hamas can participate in the elections only if it renounces violence, disarms, and retracts its pledge to destroy the State of Israel." "Although the elections are an internal Palestinian affair in which Israel cannot interfere, the participation of Hamas will determine the nature of Israel's cooperation with the PA during these elections." Defense Minister Mofaz said that Israel made it clear to Hamas that the rules of the game in Gaza have changed and made it more difficult for the terror group to continue rocket attacks in the near future. "On the one hand the organization is interested in calm in order to gain legitimacy for parliamentary elections, but on the other hand its extensive terror activity continues all the time."
2005-10-03 00:00:00
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