Israel appeared to soften yesterday its opposition to Hamasâ participation in Januaryâs Palestinian elections, as officials indicated they would not interfere in the ballot if the group stands. While maintaining their strong opposition âin principleâ to Hamasâ participation, sources close to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that did not mean in practice that they intend to intervene in the Jan. 25 ballot. âWe are opposed to the participation of Hamas which is a terrorist organization, but we do not envisage arresting political officials if they are not involved in terror activities,â a close aide to Sharon told AFP on condition of anonymity. âOur opposition to participation of Hamas does not imply that there will be interference in the ballot,â he said.Sharonâs National Security Adviser Giora Eiland also made a distinction between the principle of opposing Hamasâs participation and âpractical actionsâ which would be taken as a consequence. He told public radio that the âparticipation of a movement which kidnaps and assassinates Israeli citizens and dispatches human bombs as in Iraq is unacceptableâ. Eiland also argued that Israel was right to have raised the issue as the international community would have otherwise turned a blind eye.