Jerusalem – Israel is poised to sever all contacts with the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government except for ties with its moderate president, a senior Israeli official said Sunday.
Such a step would all but rule out prospects for peace negotiations between the two sides any time in the foreseeable future.
The recommendation to cut contacts with the Palestinian Authority, with the exception of its executive branch, came from Israel’s influential “security Cabinet,” which is made up of the most senior advisers to acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The full Cabinet is to weigh the decision this week, said government spokesman Assaf Shariv.
In some senses, the Israeli move is a formality. Israel has already said it wants nothing to do with either the new Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament that was sworn in last month or the Palestinian Cabinet made up largely of followers of the militant group.
Efforts are being made, however, to keep open a channel of communication via Mahmoud Abbas, the pragmatist-minded Palestinian Authority president who was elected separately last year and has expressed the wish to reach a peace accord with Israel.
The new Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, has said his government is broke and unable to make this month’s government payroll. But Hamas has refused to rescind its formal calls for Israel’s destruction – which has led the United States and the European Union to close the spigot on millions in aid.
