Israel: Hamas talks 'possible'
2006-02-21 15:22
Jerusalem - Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday he was not ruling out the possibility that Israel would hold peace talks with the Palestinians, despite Hamas' overwhelming victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections.
The electoral success of Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, effectively ended any chance of renewing long-stalled peace negotiations. Israel has called on the international community to join it in isolating the Palestinian government following the inauguration of the Hamas-controlled parliament Saturday.
Hamas leaders, who will form the next cabinet, worked on Tuesday to try to persuade other Palestinian parties to join it in a broad-based coalition government.
Olmert told Israel TV that the chances of reaching a "quick agreement" with the Palestinians were smaller now that Hamas was in charge.
Hope has not disappeared
"But the hope has not disappeared, and I am responsible for both things, the battle against Hamas and maintaining hope, the chance to reach an agreement," Olmert said.
The United States and European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organisation. After Hamas took over parliament, Israel froze the transfer of roughly $50m in tax funds to the Palestinian Authority, and Western nations threatened to halt hundreds of millions of dollars of vital foreign aid once a Hamas cabinet takes office.
Israel and the Western nations have demanded Hamas renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist. Hamas leaders have resisted calls to moderate and said they would make up for the lost funds with new donations from Arab and Muslim nations.
That plan, however, hit a serious setback when Arab League foreign ministers failed to agree on new aid for the Palestinians. "The aid is destined for the Palestinian people and not for Hamas," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said in an appeal for donations during a meeting in Algeria that ended late on Monday.
Trying to drum up support for the coming government, Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal visited Iran, whose leaders called on Muslim nations around the world to make up the Palestinians' budget shortfall.
"Since the divine treasures are infinite, you should not be concerned about economic issues," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as telling Mashaal on Monday. "If you work for God, he will provide for you."
In an apparent attempt to defuse international fears that the Palestinians will be led by what Israel calls a "terrorist authority," Hamas has nominated a pragmatic leader, Ismail Haniyeh, to fill the post of prime minister.
- AP