"We need to choose a tactic that will put us on the moral high ground to gain international support and enlist support within the Israeli ranks.�

Shaath stressed that the Palestinian Authority was unable to contain armed groups such as Hamas due to �the destruction of the PA security capabilities� by Israel, which has bombed a large number of police and security offices in the Gaza Strip and attacked others in the West Bank.

�We tried then to resort to dialogue � with armed groups � but Israel did everything to render our task impossible,� he said, pointing to the July 22 killing of Hamas' top military leader Salah Shehada in an air raid just as Palestinians said they were about to secure a truce among armed groups.

jordan times
Monday, August 5, 2002