Sharon vows to disrupt vote if Hamas runs

Palestinian security forces fire warning shots to prevent people from crossing the Rafah border point into Egypt yesterday. Some 1,500 Palestinian security personnel deployed on the Gaza-Egypt border, in a bid to impose order after a week of unchecked crossings by thousands. PHOTO: AFP

"We will make every effort not to help them," the newspaper quoted Sharon as telling journalists in New York. "I don't think they can have elections without our help."

Sharon said Israel could choose not to remove roadblocks and checkpoints that would block Palestinians from the polls and make it hard for Palestinians in Jerusalem to vote, among other steps, if Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, takes part, the report said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said earlier this month that the Jewish state would not tolerate the Islamist movement's participation in the upcoming legislative elections.

The Times said Sharon's remarks had stunned Palestinian leaders.

Hamas is taking part in municipal elections now under way and intends to field candidates in the January vote, in which it is expected to make a strong showing.

One Israeli official travelling with Sharon said aides feared Hamas would "get 40 percent of the vote, and that will set us back 10 years," the paper said.

Sharon said he had repeatedly made clear to Palestinian leaders Israel's strong opposition to Hamas's role and was now planning to put his concerns into action, according to The Times.

Sharon said he had informed US President George W. Bush of his intentions this week, the report said. Aides said that the prime minister's remarks then were less specific than those on Friday, and that Bush had offered no particular reaction.

Asked Friday for a response, the White House suggested that it opposed any attempt to interfere in the elections, while noting agreement over Sharon's concerns, the paper said.

Meanwhile, some 1,500 Palestinian security personnel deployed on the Gaza-Egypt border Saturday, in a bid to impose order after a week of unchecked crossings by thousands.

Palestinian troops and riot police fired warning shots to keep back the crowds along the 14-kilometre-long (nine-mile-long) frontier, where anarchy has reigned since Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip on Monday.

Angry crowds threw stones at the security forces shepherding them away from the border, while the troops started to plug the giant holes punched in the 10-to-15 foot (five metre) high border fences over the past week, witnesses and security sources said.

"We deployed today 1,500 police and national security forces. It started at 7 am (0400 GMT) and it is completed now," interior ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khussa told AFP.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who has struggled to govern Gaza amid widespread looting of Jewish settlements since Israel pulled out, vowed Friday to bring the chaotic border situation under control within days.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have expressed concern that the collapse of border controls might have allowed large quantities of weapons and illegal drugs to be smuggled into the territory.

Following Israel's pullout from Gaza, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt had agreed to police the Rafah border, which Israel had virtually locked down during the five-year uprising.