Israeli official says Hamas imperils pullout plan

JERUSALEM — Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, despite a strong rebuff from Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, said yesterday that he favored scrapping the withdrawal of Jews from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank if Hamas wins control of the Palestinian parliament.

“If Hamas will win, I personally think we should not do it,” Mr. Shalom said of Israel’s so-called “disengagement” plan.

The position, expressed in an interview with The Washington Times, puts him at odds with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has said the withdrawal will go ahead regardless of the outcome of Palestinian parliamentary elections in July.

Mr. Shalom’s comments also included a warning to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to deal with the growing political popularity of Hamas, an Islamic militant group.

Although Mr. Shalom is seen in some circles as a potential challenger to Mr. Sharon in the next Likud Party primary, the foreign minister insisted that the highly emotional disengagement issue is “not something that we are fighting against one another.” He also stressed that he supports the overall plan as a move toward peace.

Mr. Shalom caused a stir when he first suggested, in a television interview Monday, that the withdrawal be postponed.

Mr. Sharon has said the disengagement plan will proceed regardless of the winner of the Palestinian contest, and Mr. Mofaz was even more emphatic yesterday: “The disengagement will not be canceled,” he said.

Mr. Shalom also said that Israel should be demanding that the Palestinian Authority help coordinate the Jewish withdrawal from occupied Palestinian land.

“What I think needs to be done is to move with the Palestinian Authority together to coordinate the disengagement plan. Unfortunately, they are not willing to do it now,” he said.

Mr. Shalom also said Mr. Abbas should find a way to prevent Hamas from participating in the parliamentary elections or, failing that, delay the vote to give the Palestinian Authority more time to persuade voters to reject the group’s candidates.

Elections in dozens of Palestinian cities and municipalities this month demonstrated Hamas’ popularity with disillusioned voters throughout the West Bank and Gaza, many of whom hold Palestinian Authority officials responsible for the massive theft of public funds and the failure to provide schools, clinics, roads and other public facilities under leader Yasser Arafat, who died in November.

Hamas continues to call for the destruction of the Jewish state, unlike the Fatah group that dominates the Palestinian Authority, but recently has suspended its violent actions. However, the group has threatened a resumption of violence if the elections are postponed.

Hamas is “scoring points because their platform is very, very strong, very, very tough, and they can do it while Abu Mazen has to give more moderate statements because he is in power,” Mr. Shalom said, using a popular nickname for Mr. Abbas.

“What I think is that Hamas should not run in the next election and that the Palestinian Authority will not let them run in that election,” Mr. Shalom said. “It’s not that I would like to intervene in their political system … but I believe if they win, it will undermine the regime of Abu Mazen.”

Mr. Shalom said he had voiced his concern to visiting ambassadors from the European Union.

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