Head of the Israeli Security Agency, Shabak, Yuval Diskin, said during
a cabinet session on Sunday that if Palestinian general elections are
to be held today, the chances of the Fateh movement in winning them are
close to zero, and that Hamas movement will achieve a bigger victory
that than the recent elections that the movement overwhelmingly won.
Diskin also warned that if the army is fired at from the Gaza Strip or if Palestinian factions fire homemade shells into Israel, the cease-fire will collapse and the Hamas movement will resume its suicide bombings inside Israel.
He believes that ceasefire is holding as a result of what he described the "restraint policy" practiced by the Israeli troops.
According to Diskin, Hamas ordered its fighters to cease-fire but the Islamic Jihad movement continued to fire homemade shells.
Also, Diskin added that the army must maintain its combat capabilities in order to use them when needed.
Moreover, Diskin stated that the problem Israel is facing in the Gaza Strip is the continuous firing of homemade shells and the increasing military abilities of Hamas movement.
Answering a question by the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, regarding the ability of Hamas to bar fighters from firing homemade shells into Israel, Diskin stated that Hamas can stop its fighters, but it would not act against fighters of any other factions.
At the end of the meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said that the restraint policy serves the interests of Israel and thus should be maintained.
