leadership approved Ahmed Qurei as the new prime minister and Israel said it was preparing for war with the militant group Hamas.
Qurei, a Parliamentary speaker who helped to negotiate the Oslo peace accord with Israel 10 years ago, replaced Mahmoud Abbas after he resigned over the weekend following an apparent dispute over security with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
But, as further indication of political tension, Qurei, who is also known as Abu Ala, told reporters he would only accept the post if the United States and European Union guarantee that they will support the peace process.
"I want to see the Americans, what kind of guarantee they will (give)", he said in English at his office, the Reuters news agency reported Monday, September 8. " I’m not ready for failure – I want to see whether peace is possible or not. "
"CROSS MARKED"
Yet Israel has made clear it will not deal with any prime minister appointed by Arafat, and it has "cross marked" for assassination officials of Hamas, which claimed responsibility for several suicide bombings where hundreds of people were killed, BosNewsLife monitored.
SHOOTING
In a sign that Israel’s government will not back-down, Israeli forces shot and killed an armed Palestinian Monday, September 8, near the main Erez crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the military said.
The man had been wearing an Israeli army uniform and was aiming in the direction of soldiers, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported. Earlier Israeli helicopter gun ships reportedly fired missiles at a building in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip, injuring at least 12 people.
Israeli military officials described the building as a weapons store used by Hamas.
HOME
But Palestinian witnesses quoted by the AFP news agency said the missiles on Sunday, September 7, targeted the home of a Hamas member, Abdul Salem Abu Musa, who had left the building moments before, the BBC said.
It was unclear if and when the latest violence of attack and counter attacks would end. The well informed International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) quoted senior officials in Jerusalem as saying that the replacement of Abbas "signals the end of the current ‘roadmap’ plan for Palestinian statehood," and peace.
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell seemed more cautious saying that that "progress toward Middle East peace will stall, unless the next Palestinian prime minister has full control over security forces," the Voice of America (VOA) reported.
ARAFAT
Both the United States and Israel have warned however they will not deal with any Palestinian government run by Arafat or his loyalists, who have been linked to terrorism.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom even called for the expulsion of the Palestinian president from the region, although Palestinian leaders said such a move "would be disastrous," VOA said.
There has been concerns within the international community that this and the anti Hamas attacks will further fuel violence the region.
REVENGE
Hamas has already threatened "unprecedented revenge" for Israel’s military operation Saturday, September 6, against its revered founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who is 67 and confined to a wheel-chair.
The Israeli Government reportedly imposed a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and denied Palestinians entry to the Jewish State for work.
Security forces were also seen increasing their presence in shopping malls, central bus stations, and other public areas that could be targets of suicide bombings by Hamas, VOA reported.
