"I urge the leaders in Europe and around the world to take swift, decisive action against terror groups such as Hamas,” Bush

WASHINGTON, June 26 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush urged the European Union Wednesday, June 25, to take "swift and decisive" action to starve Islamic resistance movement Hamas of money and support, but the bloc put off such a decision amid clear opposition from some of its members.

"I urge the leaders in Europe and around the world to take swift, decisive action against terror groups such as Hamas, to cut off their funding and support, as the United States has done," Bush said in the first formal U.S.-E.U. summit since the invasion of Iraq sorely strained transatlantic relations.

"I'll believe it when I see it, knowing the history of the terrorists in the Middle East," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Bush as saying.

"In order for there to be peace in the Middle East, we must see organizations such as Hamas dismantled, and then we'll have peace, then we'll have a chance for peace," he said, with European Commission president Romano Prodi and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country holds the revolving E.U. presidency through June 30.

The comments of Bush, who has ramped up rhetorical attacks on Hamas since deepening his involvement in Middle East peace with a summit in early June, came shortly after Israeli occupation forces killed four Palestinians, including two civilians and two Hamas activists, in the northern Gaza Strip.

The assassinations drew vows of revenge by Hamas, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas expressed concern over "Israel's stalling in the roadmap implementation."

Hamas linked its agreement of a truce to Israel's declaration of a halt to assassinations, daily incursions into Palestinian areas and Israeli aggressions against Palestinian civilians.

Reluctant

Neither of Bush’s guests replied directly, but E.U. ambassadors earlier put off a decision on cutting off Hamas' funding because of opposition, notably from France, according to diplomats in Brussels. Such a move requires unanimity.

The United States wants the European Union to place Hamas' political wing on its list of terrorist groups, which would freeze any assets in E.U. nations. According to European sources, Washington also wants the E.U. to freeze the assets of a group of Hamas officials and deny them travel visas.

The European Union in the past has considered the group's political and military wings to be acting separately, whereas Washington makes no such distinction and brands all of Hamas a "foreign terrorist organization."

Britain, which called for the Brussels debate, backs the U.S. position, but France, notably, has warned that sidelining Hamas' political wing could be counter-productive amid efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.

On Wednesday, France's position led E.U. nation ambassadors to put off a decision on cutting off Hamas' funding, which would require unanimity, diplomats in Brussels said.

"I don't think anybody else had a problem with the idea of taking forward action on this," said one, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Still, in what has been read in Washington as a positive move, E.U. leaders warned Hamas in a joint statement late last week to agree to a ceasefire in the Middle East or risk measures to cut off its financial support.

Skeptical

Bush and his guests kept mum about another divisive issue: The fate of Yasser Arafat, whom the U.S. leader has shunned in favor of Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas.

Officials from the E.U., which helped draft the U.S.-backed "roadmap" to Middle East peace, frequently meet with Arafat during trips to the region.

"Yasser Arafat is not dedicated to peace, in the president's judgment," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer reminded reporters before the summit.

Arafat has been besieged to his Ramallah headquarters by Israeli occupation forces. He flatly rejected to leave Palestinian territories.

Call for ‘Civil War’

In a quick rejection to Bush’s statements, the Palestinian Authority warned the Bush’s statement would ignite a Palestinian civil war.

"The talk about dismantling factions is a flagrant call for a civil war that is rejected by the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority and by the factions, and it will never happen," Ahmed Adel-Rahman, a senior aide to President Yasser Arafat, told Reuters.

Abdel-Rahman's comments appeared to put the Palestinian Authority and the White House on a collision course along a "roadmap" to peace.

Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, is to arrive in Israel and Palestinian territories this weekend for further peace talks.

Abbas had earlier made it clear that he does not want to collide with resistance factions, but rather persuade them to accept a truce that would end 33 months of violence.

At the press conference, Bush also expressed deep skepticism about reports of a possible truce deal under which Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas, would suspend attacks on Israel.

Abdallah al-Shani, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad group, responded by describing Bush as a "terrorist who is supporting another terrorist called Ariel Sharon."

House Solidarity

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution Wednesday condemning recent bombings in Israel and expressing "solidarity with the Israeli people in their fight against terrorism."

The measure, which was approved in 399-5 vote, condemned "in the harshest terms" acts of terror in Israel since the Aqaba summit earlier this month.

The resolution noted that "22 innocent Israelis ... were murdered and scores wounded in three separate "suicide bombings" within less than a week after the Aqaba summit."

The resolution did not mention the Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli occupation army and did not condemn the Israelis for their policies of incursions, killings, demolishing houses and assassinations of Palestinian activists.

The resolution in Congress' lower chamber recognized "Israel's fight against terrorism as part of the global war against terrorism," and commended U.S. President George W. Bush "for his vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

A separate House resolution Wednesday criticized "the sharp escalation of anti-Semitic violence within many participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), saying the phenomenon "is of profound concern, and efforts should be undertaken to prevent future occurrences."

The measure was approved by unanimously.