Israel not ruling out targeting Hamas PM

ISRAEL’S defence minister advised the incoming Palestinian prime minister yesterday to fear for his life if Hamas militants start attacking Israel again.

Meanwhile, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed that his Kadima Party would shave billions off settlement spending - the first time he has said explicitly he would scale back funding for Israel’s 40-year-old settlement enterprise.

Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz’s warning to Hamas, recently elected to rule the Palestinian Authority, was the first to identify Hamas’ prime minister-designate, Ismail Haniyeh, as a potential target for an Israeli pinpoint attack.

“No one is immune,” Mr Mofaz told Army Radio, a day after an Israeli airstrike on an ice cream truck killed two Islamic Jihad militants and three bystanders in Gaza City. Two of those killed were aged eight and 14.

Mr Haniyeh brushed aside Mr Mofaz’s warnings and accused Israel of trying to disrupt the formation of a Hamas-led government.

“The continued escalation aims to shed more Palestinian blood, confuse the situation and hamper ... the formation of the Palestinian government,” he said.

In a speech in Tel Aviv, Mr Olmert said “billions” in settlement spending would be diverted to Jerusalem, the Negev Desert and Galilee - underdeveloped areas in Israel’s south and north.

Mr Olmert took over from Ariel Sharon after he suffered a devastating stroke on January 4. Mr Olmert spoke just days after his main security adviser, Avi Dichter, said Kadima plans more unilateral withdrawals in the West Bank and hopes to draw its final border within four years.

Polls show Kadima significantly outstripping rivals in Israel’s March 28 elections.

Kadima, formed by Mr Sharon in November to push ahead territorial pullbacks, has been slipping in the polls and the recent policy disclosures were seen as an attempt to shore up support. Reducing Israel’s presence in the West Bank after its summer pullout from the Gaza Strip is the key plank in Kadima’s platform, and the party’s main appeal to voters.

However, settler leaders argue Israel should invest more money in the settlements, not less.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat urged Israel to resume negotiations on a final peace deal immediately after the Israeli election.

“If they withdraw from the West Bank and if we have the two-state solution, we can devote so many of the resources that now go to war and conflict to reconciliation and peace,” Mr Erekat said.

Negotiations broke down years ago and did not receive the hoped-for momentum from the Gaza withdrawal. Prospects for renewing talks grew even dimmer after Hamas militants sworn to Israel’s destruction won January parliamentary elections.