White House lays blame on Hamas

The White House on Monday repeated its call for Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel and support a sustainable peace.

Deputy White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe laid blame for the latest violence in the Middle East solely on Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip to Israel’s southwest.

{mosads}Hamas had again “shown its true colors as a terrorist organization” by firing into Israel, Johndroe said at a White House briefing.

He said the White House had urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties, but repeatedly defended Israel’s government for responding to rocket attacks from Hamas.

“Israel is going after terrorists firing rockets and mortars into Israel,” he said. To end the crisis, “Hamas needs to stop firing rockets into Israel.

“Right now, they are choosing to be a terrorist organization that is firing rockets into Israel.”

Nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. While many of those killed have been Hamas militants, there have also been numerous civilian casualties.

Johndroe noted that Hamas has shot rockets into Israel from civilian areas in the Gaza Strip. He also said Israel was acting to avoid Israeli casualties. One Israeli man was killed on Sunday by a Hamas rocket attack.

Johndroe said the U.S. goal is for a sustainable cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. He called on all sides to take steps to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip by allowing deliveries of food and medical supplies.

President Bush spoke to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about the violence, and received an intelligence briefing with Vice President Cheney, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. Johndroe said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been working the phones with leaders in the Middle East in an effort to end the violence.

Johndroe deflected questions about a possible ground attack by Israel in the Gaza Strip. “I can’t speak to any potential ground operation,” he said.

The flare-up in the Middle East comes just weeks before President-elect Obama’s inauguration. Obama was set to speak about the violence with members of his national security team, including Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton.