Israel Declares Gaza 'enemy Entity'

Israel's security cabinet today declared Gaza an "enemy entity", paving the way for possible cuts in fuel and water to the Hamas-controlled territory.

The decision, described by Hamas as a "declaration of war", follows almost daily rocket attacks from Gaza at southern Israel.

So far, Israeli air strikes and limited incursions against the rocket launchers have failed to stop the rocket fire. Gaza is almost entirely dependent on Israel for vital supplies.
"It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal, terrorist, Zionist actions against our people," a Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said.

The increase in tension between Israel and Hamas Islamists, who seized control of Gaza from their Fatah rivals in June, coincided with a visit to the region by the US secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice.

Speaking in Israel today, Ms Rice pledged that the US "will not abandon the innocent Palestinians in Gaza".

But Ms Rice tempered her support for the Palestinian people by adding that Gaza "is a hostile entity to us as well".

Before touching down she said that "critical issues" would be tackled at a US-led peace conference that Palestinians hope will move them closer to statehood.

Speaking to reporters during her flight to Israel, Ms Rice said she hoped her brief trip would build momentum ahead of the gathering and bridge differences on key issues, including borders, Jerusalem, refugees and security.

"Everyone expects it [the conference] to be serious and substantive and everybody expects it to address critical issues. We don't expect anything less," she said.

"The idea that somehow the president of the United States would call an international meeting so that we could all have a photo-op is very far-fetched," said Ms Rice, who will be in the Middle East for just over 24 hours.

Ms Rice is scheduled to meet the Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, in Jerusalem before evening talks with the prime minister, Ehud Olmert. She is to see the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, tomorrow.

The conference is expected to be held in the Washington area around mid-November. Mr Abbas is under pressure from his Fatah party to skip the event unless an outcome putting Palestinians firmly on the road to statehood is assured.

The Palestinians want a "framework agreement" with a timetable for implementation and Arab diplomats say anything less would make it hard for countries such as Saudi Arabia to attend.

"We can't simply continue to say we want a two-state solution, we have got to start to move towards one," Ms Rice told reporters before a refuelling stop in Shannon, Ireland.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Abbas aide, said the Palestinians would seek the establishment of a "follow-up committee" after the conference to "supervise final-status talks" with Israel.

Six months after the international gathering, participants would reconvene to assess the results, Mr Rabbo said.

A Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said discussions with Ms Rice would also focus on measures that Mr Abbas wants Israel to take before the conference, such as a relaxation in travel restrictions in the West Bank and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli officials are expected to tell Ms Rice that 24 unmanned barriers in the West Bank would be removed initially. If no security concerns arose, Israel would then remove one checkpoint manned by soldiers, Israeli sources said, but such moves would fall far short of Palestinian expectations.

Israel harbors doubts about the ability of Mr Abbas, whose writ is now confined to the West Bank, to push through any peace deal or deliver on security pledges.