_a.jpg "צילום: ירון ברנר")
Came to present Israeli position. Mofaz
צילום: ירון ברנר
Mofaz: PA may be part of axis of evil
Defense Minister says following Cairo meeting with Mubarak ‘through Hamas, axis of evil, which begins with Iran and passes through Syria and Hizbullah, will continue to other countries where there are radical organizations’; adds ‘Syria helping Hizbullah attack Israel to divert attention from Syria to Israel-Lebanon border’
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said a Hamas-led government in the Palestinian Authority will be part of the axis of evil, which includes Syria and Iran.
"Through Hamas, the axis of evil, which begins with Iran and passes through Syria and Hizbullah, will continue to other countries where there are radical organizations. If the terms set by Israel are not realized, we may find ourselves facing a Hamas authority, and we shall not agree to such a situation," Mofaz said at the end of a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
Following the meeting, Mofaz headed off to meet his Egyptian counterpart, Hussein Tantawi. Later on Tuesday he is scheduled to meet with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman.
The Mofaz-Mubarak meeting focused on Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian elections. Mofaz later said that “I stressed to the president the conditions for a possible dialogue with Hamas in the future, when Hamas will cease to be a terror organization, annul its charter and accept the agreements reached with Israel.”
“Should Israel’s conditions not be met, we may find ourselves facing a Hamas authority. We will not allow this to happen,” he said.
‘Syria supports, funds terror’
When asked whether he had received any messages from Hamas through Egypt, the defense minister said “I did not come here to receive messages from Hamas, but to present Israel’s position and hear from the Egyptians how they plan on influencing the events in the PA.”
“President Mubarak told me that he and his associates told Hamas that it must accept the terms set by Israel and added that he believes the pressure would bear fruit soon and that Hamas would change; but he didn’t promise it would happen all at once.”
Regarding the New York Times report, according to which Israel and the U.S. plan to halt all allocation of funds to the PA to bring about new Palestinian elections, Mofaz told reporters: “I cannot confirm everything that is written in the papers each morning. We will not accept a terror authority or a situation whereby Hamas will turn the PA into a terrorist entity.”
Mofaz also discussed the Hizbullah threat from the north with Mubarak, and later said “we dealt with the fact that Hizbullah is using Lebanese territory to act against Israel.
“We know Iran and Syria support the organization; Syria is a country that supports and funds terror and permits terror organization to pass through its border with Iraq to capture American forces. Syria is helping Hizbullah attack Israel to divert attention from Syria to the Israel-Lebanon border,” he concluded.
