Hamas ministers warned they are Israeli 'targets'

Ministers in the new Hamas-led government have become potential targets after the appointment of a wanted militant as head of a new Palestinian security force, according to Dani Yatom, an Israeli MP and former intelligence chief.

The new Palestinian commander, Jamal Abu Samhadana, was also a legitimate target for assassination, Mr Yatom said.

He told Israeli Army Radio: "I understand that our sights are also trained on Hamas ministers, not only on the police chief. Nobody who deals with terror can have immunity by any means, even if he holds a ministerial portfolio in the Hamas government."

Mr Yatom did not name any particular Palestinian minister as a potential target for assassination.

His comments came after Hamas said yesterday that it would form a security force led by Mr Samhadana, whose Popular Resistance Committees group has launched dozens of homemade rockets at Israel in recent weeks. The group is also suspected of involvement in the October 2003 bombing in Gaza of a US Embassy convoy, which killed three American security guards, and has bombed Israeli tanks.

Mr Samhadana's appointment signalled a further escalation in the power struggle between the Hamas government and the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, for control over Palestinian security forces.

Hamas has largely observed a ceasefire with Israel since February 2005. But since being sworn into office last month, the Hamas leadership has said attacks carried out by other groups, including a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv this week, were justified. Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for all the violence, though defence officials are still considering whether to begin attacking Hamas targets directly.

Israel and the US have condemned Mr Samhadana's appointment. Israeli foreign ministry official Gideon Meir said: "If someone needed proof about the connection between the Hamas rule and Palestinian terror, this appointment is the ultimate proof."

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the formation of the new Palestinian police force showed "the true nature and the true tactics of this particular Hamas-led government." The US would still hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for stopping attacks, Mr McCormack said.

Mr Samhadana was named director general of the interior ministry in a decree by interior minister Said Siyam. He also was given the rank of colonel.

Khaled Abu Hilal, an interior ministry spokesman, said Mr Samhadana would form a new security branch - answerable only to Mr Siyam - to bring law and order to the Palestinian streets.

Mr Abu Hilal said: "This force is going to include the elite of our sons from the freedom fighters and the holy warriors and the best men we have. It's going to include members of all the resistance branches."

He added that officials have begun recruiting for the new force but could not offer details of its size or structure.

Mr Samhadana, a former Palestinian security officer who was dismissed for refusing to report for duty during the uprising against Israel, is high on Israel's wanted list and has been a target of at least one attempted Israeli assassination.

His appointment is likely to add to Hamas's international isolation. Israel, the US and the European Union consider it a terrorist group and have cut off much of the funding that has kept the Palestinian Authority afloat.

The Palestinian Authority needs about $160m (£90m) every month to function. The government has about $30m (£17m) in monthly income.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1758366,00.html