Hamas leader says group in touch with EU, US
Claim of secret talks broadcast as Syria accuses Israel of targeting Hamas member in Damascus.
"The political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has said that it has had
secret contacts with the United States and the European Union," reports the
BBC.
Khaled Meshal told the
BBC's Newsnight in an interview broadcast Monday that the "EU continues to have contacts and communications with us." He also said: "The American authorities, who have also put us on a list of terrorist organizations and criticize us, have also contacted us in recent months."
A spokeswoman for the EU said she was unaware of any contact between the union and Hamas.
There was no immediate comment from the US state department on Mr. Meshal's claims.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was reported last month to have said that he had had direct talks with Hamas. Hours later he denied this.
The
BBC notes that both the EU and US have classed Hamas as a terrorist organization.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is "
under pressure" to disclose whether his department has had contact with Hamas, according to the
Daily Telegraph. Mr. Straw Tuesday condemned Hamas in Parliament for its "utterly cynical" boycotting of the upcoming Palestinian elections, reports the
Telegraph. Straw said the boycott could "disrupt the electoral process and
damage democratic Palestinian causes," reports
Reuters.
Meanwhile,
Hamas is accusing Israel of responsibility for Monday's bombing attack on one of its members in Damascus. Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said the bomb detonated shortly after the unnamed member and his daughter parked the car and left it, reports
Al Jazeera.
Syria has also
fingered Israel in the attack. "The entity behind it is the Mossad - collaborators with the Mossad or the Mossad in particular," Syrian interior minister Ghazi Kanaan said, referring to Israel's intelligence service on Syrian television. Israeli officials have denied responsibility.
The
Guardian reports that this bomb attack comes "less than three months after another car bomb in Damascus killed Izz Eldine Khalil, a senior Hamas operative, and wounded three bystanders." Syria also blamed Israel for that attack.
An analysis piece in the Israeli daily
Ha'aretz asserts that
perceptions are crucial when it comes to Syria's relations with Israel.
Even if Israel was not responsible for the assassination attempt, it was perceived as being responsible by the Syrian government, and Damascus apparently has something to go on: two previous assassinations of Palestinians in Syrian territories and the unconfirmed reports from some months ago about Israel recruiting a Lebanese cell to assassinate Hamas leaders living in Syria.
From the Syrian perspective, it is not only an intelligence failure and a blow to its prestige, but also a real concern that Israel could open a new front inside Syria.
Syrian authorities, meanwhile, have agreed to allow the Palestinian Authority to open
an embassy in Damascus, "ending decades of animosity and normalizing relations," reports
The Jerusalem Post.
The
Post also writes that Syria and the PA "agreed to show mutual respect regarding their differing positions vis-a-vis peace talks with Israel," pointing out that "Syria has long opposed Arafat's unilateral negotiations with Israel, notably the Madrid Summit, the Oslo Accords and the road map plan for peace."
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