Israeli Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, demanded the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to present a detailed map which includes a specific timetable for disarming the resistance factions.
Mofaz said that the plan should be declared one day after the legislative elections in the Palestinian territories, which will be conducted on January 25.
The demands of Mofaz came during a meeting with American envoys in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening.
"Abbas is now in the toughest situation he has ever faced since he was elected", Mofaz said, "Chaos is rising in the Palestinian areas, and the P.A lost control in Gaza".
Also, Mofaz reiterated the Israeli position regarding allowing the Palestinian to vote in Jerusalem if there are no candidates for Hamas in the area, and added that if Hamas manages to achieve significant results in the elections elsewhere, there will be no place for negotiations between Israel and the P.A "as long as Hamas does not denounce terror", according to Mofaz.
On Thursday, several Israeli newspapers commented on the electoral program of Hamas which did not contain any article regarding the destruction of Israel; the electoral program of the movement does not include any article regarding exterminating Israel, but includes an article which legitimizes resistance.
The Israeli army carried over the past few months a wide scaled arrest campaigns against members of Hamas, including candidates for the legislative elections. On Thursday at night, soldiers arrested twelve members of Hamas in Tulkarem.
Yet, Hamas candidates to the local elections managed to achieve significant victories in several areas, including Nablus which was considered a stronghold for Fateh movement.
Mofaz, during his meeting with the U.S envoys, said that Israel will not be able to implement the agreement on the "Safe Passage" between Gaza and the West Bank while Hamas is gaining power.
He claims that explosive and Qassam homemade shells experts are trying to transfer the "Qassam technology" to the West Bank in order to manufacture the shells there, and hit sensitive areas in Israel.
