Israel rules out opening Gaza border if Hamas gains

[DogPoundPup]

Israel has all but ruled out fully reopening border crossings with the Gaza Strip as long as Hamas rules the enclave or stands to benefit from easing of the restrictions, a top adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

Hamas has made a shaky cease-fire, which ended Israel's 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, conditional on Israel lifting its blockade, which, the adviser made clear, would not happen anytime soon.

The Islamist group, which won a 2006 Palestinian election and seized control of the Gaza Strip 18 months later after routing President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces, has been shunned by major Western powers for refusing to recognise Israel and renounce violence.

Speaking a day after Olmert spoke by telephone to U.S. President Barack Obama, the adviser expressed confidence the new administration in Washington would maintain George W. Bush's policy of refusing to deal with or talk to Hamas.

The adviser spoke to a small group of reporters at Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, on condition of anonymity.

The adviser said Israel would allow the "maximum" flow of food, medicine, oil and gas to the Gaza Strip to help its 1.5 million residents recover from the offensive, which killed more than 1,300 Palestinians, but a wider range of goods, including steel and cement needed for rebuilding, would have to wait.

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Western diplomats and Palestinian officials complained that Israel was already throwing up obstacles to Gaza's recovery.

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