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Hamas Provoked Attacks, Bush Says
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The flare-up of violence in Gaza this week underscores the difficulties that the Bush administration has faced in attempting to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The latest effort was launched by Bush, Abbas and Olmert during a November 2007 peace conference in Annapolis, Md., but has shown little progress. Hamas was excluded from the talks because it is labeled a terrorist group by the United States.
Also Friday, pro-Hamas demonstrations took place after Friday prayers across the Arab world. In Amman, Jordan, wire services reported that at least 60,000 protesters chanted for Hamas to increase rocket attacks against Israel. Large pro-Palestinian protests also occurred in Turkey and Vienna.
In Cairo, police prevented a rally from taking place downtown. Egypt, a U.S. ally that has made peace with Israel, is concerned about Hamas, which has historical and ideological links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's main opposition group.
Demonstrations, mostly small, took place across the West Bank, underscoring the divisions among Palestinians who support Hamas and those who support the movement's rival, Fatah, led by Abbas. In Ramallah, Hamas loyalists tussled with Fatah supporters, calling them collaborators.
In East Jerusalem, Israel deployed riot police who allowed only men older than 55 with Israeli-issued identity cards to enter the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City for Friday prayers, sparking anger.
In Bethlehem, a few hundred demonstrators marched in the city calling for unity between Hamas and Fatah leaders against Israel. Khaled al-Azza, one of the protest's organizers, declared at the rally, "We call upon the international community to stop the aggression and stop the siege over Gaza and for the Arab countries to take conclusive decisions on Gaza."
Eggen reported from Washington. Correspondent Griff Witte and special correspondent Samuel Sockol in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
