Ya'alon: Disengagement precipitated Hamas victory

Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon asserted on Tuesday that the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria in August 2005 was a cause of Hamas's rise to power in the Palestinian Authority. He insisted that the PA should be boycotted with international support both diplomatically and economically even if it would lead to its complete collapse, Israel Radio reported. The former IDF chief said that the Hamas win ought to serve as an opportunity for Israel to reject its current security and diplomatic outlook that held that a Palestinian partner for negotiations existed.