The United States blamed Hamas Wednesday for the latest round of fighting in the Gaza Strip, accusing the radical Palestinian group of trying to undermine the peace process with Israel.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the attacks by Hamas against the Palestinian security forces seek to destabilize the Palestinian government and thwart negotiations with Israel.

"Everybody wants to see the violence end. But let's be clear about who triggered this latest wave of violence," McCormack said, referring to Hamas.

	Advertisement

"There are those who are irreconcilable to any political process that would result in negotiations with Israel to resolve the Israeli- Palestinian conflict," McCormack added.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday the Palestinians "are going to have to sort out their politics and figure out which pathway they want to pursue, the pathway towards two states living peaceably side by side or whether this sort of chaos is going to become a problem."

"Violence certainly does not serve the interest of the Palestinian people, and it's not going to bring the peace and prosperity that they deserve," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, speaking in Jerusalem on Wednesday, said Hamas control of Gaza would raise questions about Israel's "ability to reach agreements with [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] and whether it would be possible to implement them" in the territory.

The Gaza bloodshed has prompted Fatah to say it was suspending participation in the unity government with Hamas without an immediate ceasefire. The government was formed in March under Saudi mediation to try to end infighting and ease Western sanctions.

Earlier Wednesday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr warned that factional violence in Gaza could spread to the West Bank if nothing is done.

Abu Amr, in Tokyo for discussions on aid and regional issues with Japanese leaders, also dismissed reports that Fatah had decided to withdraw from the government as "speculation."

"Fatah so far has not decided what to do with Hamas and I don't think it makes very much sense to try to undermine the national unity government," Abu Amr, an independent, told a news conference.

"I hope that both Fatah and Hamas will be able to contain and reconcile their differences and stick to the national unity government because this is the only realistic choice."

Earlier, Abu Amr told a seminar that the fighting was a natural result of what he termed international negligence, and that things would get worse without financial help.

"The idea now is to see how we can salvage the situation," he said, warning that fighting could expand to the West Bank unless the economic situation in Gaza was dealt with promptly.

Abu Amr blamed the recent deadly clashes between the groups on pressures imposed by outside forces.

"If you have two brothers, put them in a cage and deprive them of basic and essential needs for life, they will fight," Abu Amr told a news conference in Tokyo.

"We need to undo the very problematic situation that mainly others have created," Abu Amr added.

"I don't think we should put the blame on the victim."

Hamas and Fatah have waged a sporadic power struggle for the past year since Hamas won parliamentary elections. Hamas signaled Tuesday that the conflict was moving into a decisive phase. It ignored pleas by President Mahmoud Abbas and exasperated Egyptian mediators to honor a cease-fire, and appeared to be moving ahead according to a plan.

Abu Amr, an independent in the Palestinian government, blamed the fighting on the deprivations forced upon Palestinians.

"We really live in a cage," he said.

"People cannot move in Gaza. They can't travel. There's no work. There's no normal life."

Abu Amir did not elaborate, but Palestinians have repeatedly complained of the economic and social impact of travel and economic restrictions imposed by Israel. The apparent implication was that despite Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in September 2005, Israel still exerts considerable control over the lives of the 1.4 million Palestinians there.

In Cairo, the Arab League has summoned its permanent members to hold talks on Thursday over the escalation in fighting.