Israel has decided not to block the participation of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas in landmark Palestinian parliamentary elections this January. “We're not going to do anything active to interfere in the Palestinian elections," said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. Israel backed down from threats to hinder the elections, after an international campaign aimed at keeping Hamas out failed to recruit support. The US told Israel that while it regards Hamas as a terrorist organization, America would not dictate who could participate in Palestinian elections. Hamas seeks the destruction of the Jewish state, and Israel says if it joins the Palestinian parliament, that could doom the peace process.