Israel, Hamas Rewrite Rules of Engagement
Israel and Hamas, sworn enemies with a bloody history, have rewritten their rules of engagement for the Palestinian election campaign in Jerusalem, epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli police briefly detained three Hamas candidates and the militants spouted a little anti-Israeli rhetoric, an expression of the conflicting claims to Jerusalem. Yet both sides have avoided a head-on clash to ensure the Palestinian parliament election takes place Jan. 25 as planned — Hamas because it expects to make a strong showing, and Israel because it doesn’t want to upset the Bush administration. Full Story