HAMAS IS IN THE HOUSE

PA Invites Hamas to Join Government - Robert Berger
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas asked Hamas to join his cabinet to help ensure a peaceful Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip next month. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said, "Hamas is a terrorist organization that's been responsible for countless acts of indiscriminate violence against Israeli civilians....From our point of view, as Israel, Hamas is part of the problem, it's not part of the solution." Israel says Abbas should not be negotiating with terrorists, but rather disarming them, as demanded by the internationally-backed "Road Map" peace plan. (VOA News)

Hamas Won't Join Abbas Government - Ibrahim Barzak
Hamas rejected an invitation from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to join his government, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Monday. (AP/Guardian-UK)

The mask is off and no one cares By Caroline Glick
The fact that the US and Europe have yet to make any strongstatements condemning the terrorist about to take over the Iranian government should be a warning to Israelis. They are told by their leaders that if Hamas takes over the Palestinian Authority then the kid gloves will come off. Israel will finally have the international legitimacy to really take it to the Palestinians. But the Iranian situation seems to indicate that just the opposite is the case.

Palestinian Kassam Rockets to Bypass West Bank Security Fence - Ben Caspit
After the security services identified Hamas efforts to transfer the infrastructure for Kassam rockets from Gaza to the West Bank, an official verification of this trend has arrived. An article on the Hamas website warns: "The Kassam in the West Bank will be the main deterrent weapon in the next phase....The entire distance from Netanya to Tulkarm is no more than 4 kilometers. Ramallah and Bethlehem are adjacent to Jerusalem; the entire distance between Kalkilya and occupied Tel Aviv is no more than 7 kilometers." The article explained that intense efforts have been underway for the last two years in Jenin and Nablus to develop this capability. (Maariv-Hebrew, 5Jul05)

See also Hamas Website Article - in Arabic with Hebrew translation and illustrations (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center - Center for Special Studies)
See also Map of the Range of Kassam Rockets Deployed in West Bank Against Israeli Cities (Defensible Borders for a Lasting Peace)

The following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on June 24, 2005. The transcript is from MEMRI:

Host: Mahmoud Abbas recently declared that Hamas is becoming more moderate and that we have to this. Do you agree? Are you indeed becoming more moderate?
Hamdan: I believe that we've been a moderate movement from the start. We have been moderate in out inter-Palestinian relations, and we will remain so. As for our relations with the enemy - the only solution is definitely resistance to the occupation. If this was what (Abu Mazen's) meant, then it's OK, but if brother meant something else, he should be asked about it.
Host: How do you, in Hamas, define "moderation"?
Hamdan: "Moderation" means that the rile for inter-Palestinian relations are dialogue, and the rule for confronting the enemy is resistance. The Europeans totally understand that the failure of the political settlement, and the political activities, from the Madrid Conference to this day, is a weak point in this process in the European discourse. Therefore, there is the beginning of a European understanding towards the armed resistance and the nature of its role. I'd like to make it clear that [Hamas's] contacts with the Europeans began over five years ago, and have never ceased, even though Hamas was put on the list of terrorist organizations. What is new is that some of these meetings are now out in the open. Some of these meetings were at our request, and others were initiated by European countries and elements.
Host: What do the Europeans hope to achieve in these meetings, and what do you hope to achieve?
Hamdan: We want the Europeans to hear from us about ourselves and about the Palestinian cause. We don't want the Israelis to have exclusive access to the Europeans who are internationally influential. We want to play a role in influencing the Europeans. Perhaps the Europeans want to look for ways to settle the Palestinian problem, through dialogue with the influential (Palestinian) forces. There's an additional and new element: Searching for ways to support NGOs, as well as municipalities, which may be headed by Hamas. Despite what Condoleezza Rice said, there are American channels that have contact with us. Even though these are unofficial channels, they certainly lead to official American elements. In addition, what Jack Straw said is a type of political hypocrisy, accompanying his visit to the Zionist entity - especially since following this visit, a meeting was held between a British representative and Hamas.

Don't Talk to Hamas, Ross Tells EU - Hilary Leila Krieger
Former U.S. Mideast envoy Dennis Ross on Monday attacked EU officials who have met recently with Hamas members. "If you're dealing with them, I think you're undercutting the Palestinian Authority. I wouldn't undercut the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. administration is not dealing with them and I wouldn't. And for those who say, 'Well, they're [officials] in municipalities where I have projects,' then I say, direct your projects elsewhere."

He also criticized Europeans who had failed to make good on their suggestion that they would buy the Gush Katif hothouses and give them to the Palestinians rather than see them dismantled or ruined during disengagement. "They [now] seem reluctant to do that on the grounds that they don't want to be 'benefiting settlers,' but the truth is this is actually investing in Palestinians, because this could produce anywhere from 10,000-15,000 jobs for the Palestinians," Ross said.

Ross urged the U.S. to state very clearly before the Palestinian legislative elections that they won't deal with Hamas candidates should they win. He responded to the charge that the Americans wouldn't be "respecting the rule of the people" with, "The Palestinians can choose whomever they want, but we also have the right to choose whom we will deal with." (Jerusalem Post)