Israel mulls options if Hamas wins vote

The jailed leader of the Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghuti, speaks to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite news channel from his jail cell yesterday after Israel gave him permission to speak to Al-Arabiya and Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, days ahead of Palestinian parliament elections. PHOTO: AFP

With only three days to go before the election, Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was to convene top-level talks with senior political and defence officials to formulate an Israeli response to every possible scenario.

Thousands of security personnel across the Palestinian territories were casting their ballots in an early round of voting in order to be free to protect polling booths on the official election day.

As hundreds of observers, both local and international, kept a watchful eye on the voting, the head of the EU monitoring team, Veronique De Keyser, was due to hold talks with Palestinian election officials to finalise arrangements.

She was also due to hold talks with Palestinian civil affairs minister Mohammed Dahlan, officials said.

With polls showing Hamas significantly narrowing the gap with the ruling Fatah party, Israeli officials are acutely aware that militant Islamist faction, which has been behind most of the attacks on Israel, could cut the ruling Fatah party out of power and even form the next Palestinian government.

Two months before Israel's own election in March, whose course could be radically altered by a Hamas romp to power in the territories, officials acknowledge that success for the Islamist faction would spell big problems at home.

At Sunday's meeting, officials will look at the implications for Israel of the rise of a Palestinian Authority including Hamas ministers, and whether negotiations with such an entity would be construed internationally as a de facto Israeli recognition of the radical movement.

Top defence officials are divided over Hamas's likely approach towards Israel in the wake of an election victory.

"We have to be prepared for an additional round of (Palestinian) escalation. It depends on the elections," chief of staff Dan Halutz told delegates at a political-security conference in Herzliya just north of Tel Aviv.