MCCAIN MIGHT BACK ISRAEL

McCain backs Israeli reprisals in Gaza By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press Writer MAR 18,08

SDEROT, Israel - Touring a war-battered town, Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he understands Israel's tough response to Palestinian rocket fire, adding that there is no point in negotiating with the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas regime. The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting also praised the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, saying he is committed to reaching a peace deal with Israel — though McCain is not meeting Palestinians this time.

McCain's visit to Israel is part of a weeklong trip through the Middle East and Europe. After a day of meetings with Israeli leaders, he visited Sderot, the southern Israeli border town that has been the target of thousands of crude Palestinian rockets in recent years.That is not a way for people to live, McCain said. No nation in the world can be attacked incessantly and have its population killed and intimidated without responding. That's one of the first obligations of government, to provide security for its citizens. Israel has been widely criticized for military operations aimed at stopping the rocket attacks, as well as its blockade of Gaza.While billed as routine congressional business, the visit appeared to be aimed at burnishing McCain's leadership credentials and courting Jewish voters for the November election. Jews make up large voting blocs in key swing states, including Florida and Michigan, and could help influence the outcome of the election.

Though McCain did not visit Palestinian areas, Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said the senator has always been accessible to the Palestinians and is committed to peace. But he suggested McCain's visit was aimed more at attracting Jewish voters than promoting negotiations. Maybe one day Palestinians will have money for your campaigns in the United States, he said.McCain told reporters that because he was on a congressional fact-finding tour, it was not the time to discuss his campaign.Still, in an interview published in the Jerusalem Post, McCain said he would personally be engaged in peace talks if elected and give it my highest priority.

Later Wednesday, McCain arrived in London for a first meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The two were to meet Thursday for talks on Iraq, the world economy and climate change.Speaking to reporters in Sderot, McCain gave strong indications that he would follow the policies of President Bush, who has promoted peace talks between Israel and the moderate Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, while working to isolate the Hamas government in Gaza.Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas' forces last June, and Abbas now rules from the West Bank.McCain did not meet with Abbas during his two-day visit, but said he spoke to the Palestinian leader by telephone. McCain said the Palestinian leader is committed to reaching a peace deal with Israel, though he questioned whether a target of an agreement this year is realistic.I hope that he can deliver. I think he is sincere, McCain said. I think the Palestinian people desire peace. I believe they deserve peace, and I think President Abbas is capable of conducting those negotiations.Discussing the U.S. role, McCain said there has to be an environment of reconciliation between parties, but that there also has to be an outside party that is willing to bring the parties to the table and facilitate that process. He said a peace agreement is a key U.S. interest.Israel and the Palestinians launched peace talks at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Md., last November. The sides have made little visible progress. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned that even if a deal is reached this year, it cannot be carried out until Abbas regains control of Gaza.The Palestinians seek an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip — territories that lie on opposite sides of Israel. Hamas is committed to Israel's destruction and opposes the peace talks.

Israel frequently conducts military operations in Gaza in response to rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups. A recent Israeli offensive killed more than 120 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, drawing heavy international criticism. Since ending the operation, there has been a relative lull, and Israeli defense officials have confirmed they are working through Egyptian mediators to reach a truce with Hamas.McCain said he would respect any Israeli decision but questioned the wisdom of negotiating with the Islamic militants. The Palestinian authority in Gaza is committed to the extermination of the state of Israel. It is very difficult to negotiate with an organization that is dedicated to your extermination, he said. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said McCain's comments shows there isn't the faintest hope for a change in American policies. He called on the Arab world to reconsider its ties with the U.S.

Hamas vows to share Gaza if Haniya reinstated PM Wed Mar 19, 4:47 PM ET

SANAA (AFP) - Hamas' number two Mussa Abu Marzuk said on Wednesday the Islamists would share control of the Gaza Strip if Hamas' Ismail Haniya was reappointed prime minister by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Abu Marzuk said Hamas would accept a return to the situation which existed before June 13 including a return of the government of Ismail Haniya in its capacity as a government of national unity.Hamas seized control of Gaza in June after routing forces loyal to Abbas in a week of deadly street battles.Abbas then dismissed Haniya from his role as prime minister and suspended talks with Hamas, which he has refused to reopen until the Islamists relinquish control of Gaza.Abu Marzuk made the proposal during a visit to Sanaa at the same time as a delegation from the Palestine Liberation Organisation was also in Yemen's capital for separate talks with Yemeni officials on Palestinian reconciliation.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi said both Hamas and PLO delegations appeared to back the Yemeni reconciliation initiative completely and without condition.The discussions which have taken place in Sanaa have focused on the mechanisms to allow the implementation of this initiative, he said.In addition to a return to the pre-June situation, the Yemeni initiative involves elections in the Palestinian territories, resumption of talks based on the Cairo (2005) and Mecca (2007) agreements, and Palestinian Authority security forces returning to Gaza.We want to see a situation where the West Bank and Gaza Strip are reunited under one government, one security force and one authority, Abu Marzuk said.He added Hamas wanted an open dialogue without condition with Abbas's Fatah party based on the seven points of the Yemeni plan. However, he stressed that talks must take place with Fatah and not with the PLO delegation.The Yemeni plan is for a dialogue between Fatah and Hamas, the two groups which are in conflict.

Cheney meets Oman sultan with spotlight on Iran by Olivier Knox Wed Mar 19, 5:09 PM ET

MUSCAT (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney met Oman's Sultan Qaboos on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on US efforts to contain Iran's influence and curb its nuclear programme. The two leaders reviewed cooperation between Oman and the United States in all fields in light of the close relations between their countries, the sultanate's state news agency ONA without giving details.

Cheney's stop in Muscat, which has good ties with both Iran and Washington, came after a surprise Iraq visit to kick off a nine-day tour of the Middle East and Turkey, with regional peace efforts and Afghanistan high on the agenda.As well as Iran, which faces Oman across the Straits of Hormuz entrance to the oil-rich Gulf, the broader US-led war on terrorism was also expected to figure in the Qaboos meeting, a senior aide said in Washington.They sit in kind of the eye of the storm of that part of the world, and are both observers and participants in all the major issues there, the adviser said in a pre-trip briefing held on condition that he not be named.Cheney was expected to thank the sultan for his quiet but robust support on Iraq, Afghanistan, and the broader US-led war on terrorism launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the aide said.But he stressed that Iran has got to be very high on the agenda for the talks, which come eight months before US presidential elections.The Omanis, like a lot of other people, are concerned by the escalating tensions between the rest of the world community and Iran, by some of Iran's activities, particularly in the nuclear field, but outside its borders as well, the official said.

Oman, an ally of the United States, has also consistently maintained good relations with Tehran, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Muscat last May.Muscat is anxious to avoid an increase in tension in the Gulf over Tehran's refusal to halt its uranium enrichment programme, resulting in a tense standoff with the West, including three sets of UN sanctions.Washington insists it seeks a diplomatic solution to the standoff, but Cheney warned in 2005 that Israel might decide to use military force against Iran's nuclear programme.US President George W. Bush claims that Iran is racing to develop nuclear weapons, something denied by Tehran, which has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and that it has the right to pursue it.Ahead of talks with the sultan, Cheney took a break from the strains of Middle East diplomacy and headed into waters off Oman's coast for some deep-sea fishing aboard a borrowed 60-foot (18-metre) royal yacht.

Israel bars access from W. Bank, Gaza By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 19, 4:46 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel declared a heightened security alert Wednesday and barred Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from entering the country, fearing Hezbollah guerrillas might try to carry out a major attack during holiday celebrations this week. The Purim holiday coincides with the end of a 40-day mourning period for Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bombing in Syria last month. Israel denied involvement, but the Lebanese guerrilla group blamed Israel and vowed revenge.The alert came amid new signs that Israel is moving closer to a cease-fire with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Israeli defense officials said Amos Gilad, a senior Defense Ministry official, traveled to Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian mediators. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks.The army said the closure would remain in effect through Sunday night, preventing thousands of Palestinian workers and merchants from entering Israel. Most come from the West Bank, but small numbers of merchants from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are allowed in.The closure won't affect Palestinians needing treatment at Israeli hospitals, and cargo crossings will keep operating, a military spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

While Israel typically imposes closures during major holidays, when schools are closed and public areas are crowded with travelers, security officials are warier since the Mughniyeh killing. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police canceled vacations for officers and brought in extra forces to guard festivities, which started at schools Wednesday.The Islamic mourning period for Mughniyeh ends this weekend. Hezbollah is believed to have close ties with Palestinian militants in the West Bank, who in the past have carried out attacks during Purim, a holiday when young children dress up in costumes.Violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel has slowed in recent weeks as Egypt pressed Hamas to stop its rocket fire and Israel to halt military strikes. The truce efforts intensified after a fierce round of fighting that began in late February and killed more than 120 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, as well as three Israelis.Israel has been battling Hamas since the Islamic militant group violently seized control of Gaza last June. In addition to its military activity, Israel has imposed a tough economic blockade on the area.

As part of the truce talks, Hamas wants Israel to reopen Gaza's border crossings. Hamas also wants to have some sort of presence at the crossings, and Israeli defense officials have not ruled that out, as long as Israel is allowed to monitor the passages in some way.Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha confirmed Wednesday that talks were under way with Egyptian mediators.As we have always said, the ball is in Israel's court, Taha said. We cannot forget that. ... Every single minute they are committing new aggressions against the Palestinians.In Washington, meanwhile, the Bush administrsation again ruled out U.S. talks with Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the State Department and the European Union.It'll be a cold day in hell before you see a change in U.S. policy with respect to discussing, winking at, nudging, looking at or otherwise dealing with a terrorist organization, deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.He said the U.S. had no say on Egypt or other countries talking to Hamas. Those are choices that they are going to have to make, Casey said.Last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had talked with the Egyptians and we fully expect the Egyptians to carry out the efforts that they said they would carry out to try to bring calm to the region, to try to improve the situation in Gaza.

Russian FM holds Mideast talks in Syria Wed Mar 19, 3:51 PM ET

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday held talks with his Syrian counterpart on Middle East peace efforts at the start of a mini-tour of the region, Syria's state news agency SANA said. Lavrov and Walid Muallem in their meeting stressed the need to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including on the Syrian-Israeli track, it said.They also called for a reunification of Palestinian ranks, following last June's deadly clashes in which the Islamist movement Hamas evicted Palestinian president's mainstream Fatah party from the Gaza Strip.Lavrov was to meet later Wednesday with Hamas officials, in particular its political supremo Khaled Meshaal who lives in exile in Syria, Russian embassy spokesman Andrei Zaitsew told AFP.Turning to the political crisis in Lebanon, left without a president since November, the two ministers said the Lebanese should be left to reach a solution but also expressed support for Arab League mediation, SANA said.The possibility of holding a (Middle East) peace meeting in Moscow focused on the Syrian-Israeli track were also to be discussed, according to Zaitsew.

On the bilateral front, Lavrov, who flew in earlier the same day and was to meet President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, and Muallem signed an accord to ease visa terms between their states, especially for diplomats and officials.Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were kickstarted last November at a US-brokered conference in Annapolis, near Washington after a seven-year hiatus.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to aim -- as urged by the US administration -- for a comprehensive Middle East peace deal by the end of this year.Russia has said it aims to hold a follow-up to the Annapolis talks and has opened consultations with officials from the Palestinian Authority, Israel, the Arab League, European Union, United Nations and United States.The foreign minister is to travel on to Israel on Thursday and also visit the Palestinian territories.