U.S., Israel look to oust Hamas
New York Times reports U.S., Israel discussing ways to destabilize Palestinian government so newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again; intention is to starve PA of money, int’l connections to point where Abbas is compelled to call new elections
WASHINGTON - The New York Times reported Tuesday that the United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again.
According to Israeli and western diplomats, the intention is to starve the Palestinian Authority of money and international connections to the point where, some months from now, its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, is compelled to call a new election.
The hope is that Palestinians will be so unhappy with life under Hamas that they will return to office a reformed and chastened Fatah movement, the New York Times said.
The officials also argue that a close look at the election results shows that Hamas won a smaller mandate than previously understood.
They say Hamas will be given a choice: Recognize Israel's right to exist, forswear violence and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements - as called for by the United Nations and the West - or face isolation and collapse.
Last week Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held talks with President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It is estimated that Hamas will not comply with the Quartet and U.N. Security Council demands.
According to the New York Times, efforts will focus on sabotaging Hamas’ political platform, as opinion polls show that Hamas' promise to better the lives of the Palestinian people was the main reason it won. But the United States and Israel say Palestinian life will only get harder if Hamas does not meet those three demands, The New York Times said.
‘It's hard to move millions of dollars in suitcases’
The officials said the destabilization plan centers largely on money. The Palestinian Authority has a monthly cash deficit of some USD 60 million to USD 70 million after it receives between USD 50 million and USD 55 million a month from Israel in taxes and customs duties collected by Israeli officials at the borders but owed to the Palestinians.
Israel says it will cut off those payments once Hamas takes power, and put the money in escrow. On top of that, some of the aid that the Palestinians currently receive will be stopped or reduced by the United States and European Union governments, which will be constrained by law or politics from providing money to an authority run by Hamas. The group is listed by Washington and the European Union as a terrorist organization.
So beginning next month, the Palestinian Authority will apparently face a cash deficit of at least USD 110 million a month, or more than USD 1 billion a year, which it needs to pay full salaries to its 140,000 employees, who are the breadwinners for at least one-third of the Palestinian population.
The employment figure includes some 58,000 members of the security forces, most of which are affiliated with the defeated Fatah movement.
According to The New York Times, officials said if a Hamas government is unable to pay workers, import goods, transfer money and receive significant amounts of outside aid, Abbas would have the authority to dissolve parliament and call new elections.
Hamas gets up to USD 100,000 a month in cash from abroad, Israel and Western officials say. "But it's hard to move millions of dollars in suitcases," the New York Times quoted a western official as saying.
