Israel announces sanctions on Hamas

Israel held back yesterday from imposing an all-out embargo on the incoming Hamas-led Palestinian administration but announced sanctions that were still likely to cripple the authority.
While committing itself not to block humanitarian aid, Israel said it would actively work to stop assistance of whatever sort - financial, military or diplomatic - reaching the Palestinian Authority while it was run by Hamas.
The £30 million monthly tax refund that Israel has traditionally paid the authority would be frozen from the beginning of next month and Israel would work to persuade other countries to impose the same financial block.
The loss of the money will be felt immediately by the Hamas-led government as it is needed to pay about 135,000 public sector employees.
Israel reiterated that all Hamas members were still regarded as belonging to a terrorist group and were banned from moving through Israeli-controlled checkpoints. This includes the 74 newly elected Hamas members of parliament.
Israel said the sanctions were intended to hurt the Palestinian Authority, not its people. It held back from imposing a full closure of its borders and checkpoints with Palestinian areas, which means thousands of migrant workers will still be allowed to commute into Israel subject to security clearance.
While acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the incoming Palestinian government as a "terrorist authority" he pointedly did not declare it a hostile body in a state of war with Israel.
The sanctions came a day after the new Palestinian parliament was sworn in, a historic day that paves the way for the first Islamist regime in the modern era of the Holy Land.