Palestinian warns clergy against calls for violence

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The new Palestinian prime minister delivered a stern, two-pronged warning yesterday to hundreds of Islamic preachers, including Hamas supporters: He won't tolerate calls for violence delivered from mosque pulpits, and he plans to collect militants' weapons.

Salam Fayyad's meeting with some 800 Muslim clergy marked the latest attempt to stem the influence of Hamas in the West Bank following the Islamists' violent takeover of Gaza this month. Security forces have arrested dozens of Hamas activists in the West Bank, and President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to dry up funding to Hamas with a review of all private organizations.

But Fayyad's crackdown on Hamas was complicated by Israel's hunt for gunmen from Abbas's Fatah movement in the West Bank city of Nablus. "We view this aggression as a way to undermine our efforts to provide security and end the chaos," Fayyad said.

Israeli officials, who described the operation as a routine one targeting militants involved in plots to carry out attacks, said troops found weapons and explosives in Nablus.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised to bolster Abbas's government in his struggle with Hamas. Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the Israeli government is committed to working with Abbas but would not risk the safety of its own citizens.

"We will go forward with full strength to strengthen Abbas, and full strength to stop the terror," she said.

This week Abbas issued a decree barring militants from carrying weapons, but it is doubtful he will be able to disarm Fatah's violent offshoot, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Previous attempts to collect illegal weapons have ended in failure.

Mohammed Abu al-Hasan, a Hamas preacher from the West Bank town of Jenin, said clerics would continue to speak their minds, regardless of any government directive.

"We will not accept these restrictions, and we are going to respond with our own message in this Friday's sermons," he said. "Fayad is a politician, he can handle political issues and we . . . can handle religious issues."