February 11, 2009 5:11 PM
- Text
Israel Shooting Embarrasses Palestinians
(CBS/AP)
Hamas militants shot and wounded an Israeli civilian near the main cargo crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Monday, embarrassing the Palestinians' new government and laying bare internal friction that could tear it apart.
Israel swiftly denounced the attack, saying it proved the new governing alliance between Hamas and the more moderate Fatah movement was flouting international demands to disarm, recognize Israel and accept past peace accords with the Jewish state.
The government also said the attack was the direct result of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's call when the new government took power on Saturday that Palestinians have the right to "resistance in all its forms," reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.
"This terror attack is precisely what the new Palestinian government refuses to condemn, thus rejecting the conditions placed upon it by the international community," said David Baker, an official in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office.
The Israeli electric company said in a statement that one of its workers was shot and seriously wounded as he was working on a tower near the crossing.
"This is a direct result of the guidelines of this government. We will not recognize or deal with a government that openly supports terror," Israeli spokeswoman Miri Eisen said.
In other developments:
The shooting came as a senior Norwegian diplomat was in Gaza for the first meeting between a high-ranking Western official and Hamas government officials. Deputy Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen of Norway said before the attack that he hoped other states would follow his country's lead and recognize the new Palestinian coalition, installed on Saturday.
It may say sound odd, reports Berger, but Israel has finally declared the conflict in Lebanon last summer a war. Israel is reluctant to recognize wars it doesn't win. But under pressure from bereaved families, last summer's inconclusive conflict against Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon has been recognized as a war. The issue now is to give the war a name. There are three options: War of the North, Shield of the North War, and The Second Lebanon War. Critics say if Israel had crushed Hezbollah, the war would have been named a long time ago.
World leaders of Reform Judaism vowed on Monday to launch a new effort to garner greater support among Israelis — despite what they called continuing discrimination at the hands of the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel. The Orthodox rabbinate in Israel has strenuously resisted inroads by more liberal denominations, refusing to recognize their rulings or conversions as religiously valid.
Even before Monday's attack, Israel was refusing Israel to deal with the new Palestinian government, reports Berger — and a majority of the Israeli people seemed to agree: A poll found that only 39 percent of Israelis believe Israel should recognize the new Palestinian government, even though it does not recognize the Jewish state.
"We have every right to say, 'Listen guys, until we have recognition here, we can't sit down and negotiate seriously.' But that doesn't mean that Israel wants chaos on the other side," Israeli analyst Hirsch Goodman said.
However, an additional 17 percent said their government should engage only Fatah Cabinet ministers, for a total of 56 percent favoring some sort of dialogue with the Palestinian leaders. The poll had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
Israel swiftly denounced the attack, saying it proved the new governing alliance between Hamas and the more moderate Fatah movement was flouting international demands to disarm, recognize Israel and accept past peace accords with the Jewish state.
The government also said the attack was the direct result of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's call when the new government took power on Saturday that Palestinians have the right to "resistance in all its forms," reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.
"This terror attack is precisely what the new Palestinian government refuses to condemn, thus rejecting the conditions placed upon it by the international community," said David Baker, an official in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office.
The Israeli electric company said in a statement that one of its workers was shot and seriously wounded as he was working on a tower near the crossing.
"This is a direct result of the guidelines of this government. We will not recognize or deal with a government that openly supports terror," Israeli spokeswoman Miri Eisen said.
In other developments:
Even before Monday's attack, Israel was refusing Israel to deal with the new Palestinian government, reports Berger — and a majority of the Israeli people seemed to agree: A poll found that only 39 percent of Israelis believe Israel should recognize the new Palestinian government, even though it does not recognize the Jewish state.
"We have every right to say, 'Listen guys, until we have recognition here, we can't sit down and negotiate seriously.' But that doesn't mean that Israel wants chaos on the other side," Israeli analyst Hirsch Goodman said.
However, an additional 17 percent said their government should engage only Fatah Cabinet ministers, for a total of 56 percent favoring some sort of dialogue with the Palestinian leaders. The poll had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
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