Hamas in Russia for talks with senior officials
Meanwhile, Abbas says Al Qaeda has infilitrated Palestinian territories.
A delegation from Hamas, the militant group which won the most seats in the recent Palestinian parliamentary elections, is in Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials. The
BBC reports that the meetings are
the first time a member of the so-called 'Quartet' (US, United Nations, European Union, Russia) countries working towards peace on the Middle East has met with Hamas. On arrival its arrival in Russia, the Hamas delegation lashed out at Israel for disregarding the "roadmap' to peace.
"They [Israel] have practically refused the roadmap," [exiled political leader Khaled Meshaal] said. "The main problem is the occupation of Palestine."
In a move that angered the Israel government, Russia President Valdimir Putin invited Hamas to come to Moscow after their election victory in January. Mr. Putin will not meet with the delegation himself, however. The
BBC also reports that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni described Russia's invitation as "
misplaced".
The Washington Post reports that the delegation also reasserted that Hamas was
not going to change its position on Israel. "The issue of recognition (of Israel) is a decided issue," said Mr. Mashaal. "We don't intend to recognize Israel." But Russian officials hoped to be able to soften Hamas's stance.
Russia's special Middle East envoy, Alexander Kalugin, said the aim of the talks was not to dictate conditions to Hamas but to use persuasion.
"We're not going to put forward demands. We'll seek to convince them that now is the time to take responsible decisions. If you come to power and form a government, you must understand you are assuming a great responsibility," Kalugin said Thursday in an interview with NTV television.
Ha'aretz reports that the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, Bakir Abdel Munem, also said that Hamas
would need to reconsider its position on Israel.
Hamas "ties the question of recognizing Israel as a state with the necessity to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories," Munem was quoted as saying. "At the same time, I think that Hamas may revise its stance in the interests of the entire Palestinian people," Munem said.
The Jerusalem Post reports that while Putin may have invited Hamas to Moscow in a move designed to improve Moscow's role in peacekeeping, Russian analysts
doubt much will come of the talks.
"Hamas won't listen to Russia because Moscow has no real levers of influence over them," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the foreign policy magazine Russia in Global Affairs. "This is not the time of the Soviet Union, when we had real clout in the region." While the Hamas delegation was in Moscow, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was meeting with the leader of Israel's Labor opposition party, Amir Peretz. The
Financial Times reports that Mr. Peretz's party is not expected to win the upcoming Israeli elections, but he and Ehud Olmert, Israel's acting prime minister and leader of the Kadima party - which is expected to win -
have similar positions on the need for statehood for Palestinians.
Mr Peretz indirectly criticised Israeli government economic sanctions against the PA following the Hamas victory in January. But he endorsed the view of the Olmert government that there should be no talks with Hamas unless it recognised Israel and abandoned violence.
"I am against collective punishment and any violation of human rights," the Labour leader said. "We must ensure that international support reaches the people but not terrorist organisations that denounce Israel."
Also on Thursday, the
Guardian reports, Mr. Abbas told a leading Arabic-language newspaper that Al Qaeda "had
infiltrated the occupied territories and could further destabilise the region."
"We have indications about a presence of al-Qaida in Gaza and the West Bank. This is intelligence information. We have not yet reached the point of arrests," Mr Abbas told Al Hayat, the London-based Arabic newspaper.
Later he added that Palestinian security forces had been given the task of heading off any extremist plots. "Our forces are trying with all available means to prevent them from arriving to carry out terrorist attacks in this region," he said.
The leader of Hamas in the Palestinian parliament, Salah Bardawil, has denied any Al Qaeda infiltration.
The Israeli military says it believes that Al Qaeda penetrated into the Gaza Strip during the turmoil of last year's withdrawal of Israeli forces and settlers. The Israelis also said Hamas was linked to global terror, although there is little proof that Hamas has ever operated outside Israel or the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile,
South Africa has joined the list of countries that has invited a delegation from Hamas to visit for talks.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Hamas said South Africa has invited its leaders for talks, though it said no date had been set. The South African Foreign Ministry confirmed the invitation.
Also...
•
IDF officers: We have less freedom than terrorists (Ha'aretz)
•
Abbas looks to the PLO to weaken Hamas (Daily Star, Lebanon)
•
Israel gives military free rein (Al Jazeera)
•
Israeli Arrow capable of intercepting 'any Iranian missile' (Jerusalem Post)
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