Israel's security service (Shin Bet) chief Yuval Diskin said Tuesday that the government must prepare for a "military option" in Gaza Strip, adding that Palestinians had smuggled 30 tons of explosives into the Strip since the Israeli army pulled out of the area last year.
According to Diskin, Israel has no good options in the Gaza Strip. "All the options are awful, and we must choose the least awful of all of them, he was quoted as saying by Haaretz.
Meanwhile, the ruling Hamas movement said Tuesday the agenda of the proposed Palestinian unity government would not recognize Israel or accept a two-state solution. "We reject the two-state solution, which is the vision of U.S. President George Bush, because it represents a clear recognition of Israel," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.
"Our position in this regard remains unchanged. We reject joining in any government that recognizes Israel."
In a related development, the Damascus-based Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal said that the Palestinian government led by his movement has exposed the weakness of the Palestinian Authority. In an interview published by the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, Meshal said "Hamas' partnership in the PA government was an unavoidable experiment, as part of the movement's natural evolution."
"This experiment exposed the PA's incapability to be sovereign, and lack of solid foundations [of government]," he added.
