Israeli leader sees no Hamas talks

HERZLIYA, Israel - Israel's foreign minister threatened yesterday to keep hitting Hamas as long as it attacks Israel, ruling out negotiations with the Islamic rulers of Gaza just eight days before national elections in which she is running for prime minister.

Tzipi Livni's tough statement came as a Hamas delegation went to Cairo for talks today with Egyptian mediators on a long-term truce with Israel, building on a two-week informal cease-fire that followed Israel's bruising offensive in Gaza.

Events yesterday underlined the urgency of the talks in Cairo. An Israeli missile hit a car in the town of Rafah, killing a Palestinian extremist, hours after warplanes bombed the nearby Gaza-Egypt border seeking to destroy tunnels that Hamas uses to smuggle in weapons and supplies.

In Cairo, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the group, which calls for the destruction of Israel, would make its decision about a truce after a final round of talks with Egyptian mediators expected today.

He said the delegation would listen to "the summary of the Egyptian contacts and talks that have been conducted with the Israelis or other concerned parties." Israel and Hamas refuse to deal directly with each other.

In Syria, Mohammed Nasr, a member of the exiled leadership of Hamas, said the group was ready for a one-year truce with Israel in exchange for reopening the Gaza Strip's borders and lifting the economic blockade.

Continued violence could work against Israel's departing government in the Feb. 10 elections and bolster Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seen as the front-runner.

Netanyahu has called for Israel to oust Hamas from power in Gaza. In a speech yesterday at an annual security conference sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Center, Livni did not go that far, but she was clear in her refusal to deal directly with the Islamic extremists.

Hamas does not accept a place for a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East and has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel.

On Sunday and yesterday, Hamas' Damascus-based political leader, Khaled Mashaal, was in Iran, where he met the country's top leaders to thank them for their support during the Gaza offensive. He called his movement's most powerful ally a "partner in victory."

Israel and the United States accuse Iran of supplying Hamas with weapons, including rockets. Tehran denies it but says it does support Hamas financially - believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The funding has been vital for sustaining Hamas under the crippling blockade.

"Terror must be fought with force and lots of force," Livni said. "Therefore we will strike Hamas."

She threatened to renew Israel's offensive if attacks from Gaza continue. "If by ending the operation we have yet to achieve deterrence, we will continue until they get the message," she said.

Livni called for Israel to pursue peace with moderate Palestinians and Arab states.