Israel has said it will wage a "war to the bitter end" against Hamas as an Israeli opinion poll indicates most Israelis oppose "targeted assassinations" on leaders of the militant Islamic group.
"As a government responsible for the security of its citizens, we must wage a war to the bitter end [against Hamas] because no one else, at least at this stage, will do it," Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim told Israeli Army Radio today. Yedioth Ahronothdaily found 67 per cent of Israelis wanted what the survey termed the "assassination policy" to stop, at least temporarily, to give new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas a chance to grow stronger.
Yedioth Ahronothcommentator Mr Sever Plotzker described as unprecedented the widespread opposition to the assassinations.
US President George W. Bush earlier indicated his support for Israel's crackdown on Hamas despite recent Israeli attacks on Palestinian areas that have killed civilians.Hamas was responsible for Wednesday's suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem.
"The issue is Hamas. The terrorists are Hamas," White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer told reporters travelling with US President George W. Bush to Connecticut.
His comments marked a change in tone from US criticism of Israel for its attempt to kill a Hamas leader on Tuesday. Hamas has rejected Bush's Middle East peace "road map" as too generous to Israel.
The US administration has also toned down its criticism of Israeli military operations.President George W. Bush had criticised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for trying to kill one of Hamas's leaders earlier this week, but pro-Israel legislators and groups had defended the assassination attempt as part of Mr Sharon's "war on terrorism".
Mr Bush will send a veteran diplomat to Israel this weekend for urgent Middle East "road map" talks to show the US-backed peace plan is not dead despite recent bloodshed.
Officials said American diplomat Mr John Wolf would leave for Jerusalem as early as tomorrow to lead a monitoring team that would put pressure on the Israelis and Palestinians to meet their day-to-day commitments under the road map.
Administration officials said Mr Wolf would go straight to Jerusalem for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. It will be Mr Wolf's first trip to the Middle East since Mr Bush announced his appointment.
An official said Mr Wolf and Mr David Satterfield, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, would stay in the Middle East for several days.
Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday told Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and the foreign ministers of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt that the peace process has to keep moving forward.
Mr Powell plans to meet leaders from the United Nations, Russia and the European Union on June 22nd - most likely in Amman, Jordan. They are members of the so-called Middle East quartet, which crafted the peace plan that envisions a Palestinian state by 2005.
Rather than talk directly to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Mr Bush has relied on his top aides - mainly Mr Powell and national security adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice - to keep up the pressure by telephone."It's not as if a phone call [from Bush] will get Hamas to stop being terrorists," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.