Associated Press
1 December 2005
TEL AVIV, Israel--Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said
Thursday that Israel would immediately arrest militant
Hamas candidates for Palestinian parliament if they tried
to go through Israeli military roadblocks.
`If a Hamas member wants to move from place to place, from
one checkpoint to another, he will be immediately
arrested,` Sharon told a meeting of news editors.
Israel objects to Hamas` participation in the Jan. 25
elections so long as the Islamic group remains armed and
committed to Israel`s destruction. Hamas wants to replace
Israel with an Islamic state.
Sharon said that Israel would not talk with Hamas if the
militant group were to emerge victorious in the elections.
`We do not see them as any type of partner in contacts
with Israel,` he said.
But he said that Hamas` participation in the election
would not sour Israel`s relations with the Palestinian
Authority.
`I don`t see that this can influence in a negative way on
their way of dealing with negotiations,` he said.
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