A chance has emerged for Israel to undermine its arch foe Hamas by bolstering Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' grip on power after a complete political split between Gaza and the West Bank, Israeli prime minister said.

Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip makes Israel see a chance. "An opportunity has emerged to genuinely advance the regional diplomatic process," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The four-way summit between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Abbas and Olmert was aimed at the resumption of the Middle East peace process amid turmoil in the Palestinian territories after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip on June 14.

The Palestinians have been left with two governments - the new emergency government in the West Bank and the Hamas rulers in Gaza.

Israel and moderate Arab leaders have united in support of Abbas and to isolate Hamas, a group pledged to Israel's destruction.

The Israeli position is clear: the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) headed by Abbas would receive full support, while Hamas's regime in Gaza must be undermined in any possible way.

On the one hand, Olmert announced on Monday that he would seek cabinet approval for the release of 250 Fatah prisoners held in Israeli jails, describing it as a "goodwill gesture."

The Israeli cabinet decided on Sunday to recognize the Fatah government and approved the release of part of hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues that Israel has withheld since Hamas won Palestinian elections in January 2006.

On the other hand, Israel called on Mubarak to increase his efforts to prevent arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

Israel, analysts said, expects those supportive measures could turn Abbas into a powerful leader.

Besides the two measures, analysts said that there are not many options for the Israelis to manage the situation at the present stage.

Israel does not want to send its army into Gaza and the crumbling Fatah forces are incapable of entering Gaza without Israel's help.

As for political options, it seems unlikely to compromise with Hamas in striking a deal on another national unity government.

Saudi Arabia, which helped broker the unity government between Hamas and Fatah in February, said it would not mediate between the two for another time.

In this context, it appears that the debate over the Gaza Strip will mostly concentrate on tightening the siege and isolation of the strip.

Right now, Israel is trying to consolidate Abbas' stance at all costs in order to prevent him from resuming the partnership with Hamas, and striving to make the Palestinians regard Abbas and his Fatah government as the only hope of peace and a good life, analysts said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2007)