Diskin: J'lem building freeze would bring Abbas to table

Israel's declared freeze of construction in the settlements will not bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table by itself, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin said yesterday.

"As far as the Palestinians are concerned, the decision of the government to freeze construction does not constitute the basis for restarting the political process," Diskin said. "For there to be a basis there also needs to be an Israeli statement on Jerusalem."

Diskin said that there is a crisis in confidence between the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the United States, because the Palestinians believe Washington could force Israel to undertake substantive steps in confidence building.

"[Mahmoud Abbas] still believes in negotiations and is looking for a way to back off his announcement that he would not be running in the coming elections, but has still not found the way to do so," the Shin Bet security service chief said.

However, Abbas has a clear precondition for the resumption of talks: They must be restarted on the basis of understandings reached with former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

"From his point of view, this is a key condition on this issue," Diskin said.

The Shin Bet chief also said that the military power of Hamas today is greater than it was prior to Operation Cast Lead.

"We have witnessed an intensive effort to rehabilitate Hamas' military capabilities, which rely on tunnel digging for smuggling and tunnels for defensive purposes inside the Gaza Strip. In parallel, we are also aware of tunnels being dug toward Israel with terrorist attacks in mind," Diskin said.

If Hamas decides that it is unable to deliver something to the Palestinian public within the year, such as the removal of the siege or carrying out the prisoner exchange deal, this might lead the organization to resume firing against Israel through its proxy organizations in the Gaza Strip, Diskin warned.

"Hamas attributes great importance to the Shalit deal because it believes that it can contribute to removing the blockade and improve economic conditions in the Strip," Diskin said.

He also commented on what impact the settlement construction freeze has had on the activities of the extreme right wing in Israel, saying that "it is leading extremist elements to act in a way that will challenge and undermine law enforcement on the ground."

He said that the aim is to attack the Palestinians and their property, and possibly even Arab Israelis, to goad them to carry out reprisals, thus creating "chaos that would keep the security forces from enforcing the decision to freeze [construction]."