Hamas would talk, strings attached

A jailed senior Hamas member and member of the Palestinian parliament spoke recently with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, saying that a Hamas-led negotiation with Israel is feasible under certain conditions. If Hamas participates in elections for PA chairman and wins, undoubtedly we'll conduct diplomatic negotiations with Israel. On the other hand, he warned that Hamas ...

A jailed senior Hamas member and member of the Palestinian parliament spoke recently with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, saying that a Hamas-led negotiation with Israel is feasible under certain conditions.

A jailed senior Hamas member and member of the Palestinian parliament spoke recently with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, saying that a Hamas-led negotiation with Israel is feasible under certain conditions.

If Hamas participates in elections for PA chairman and wins, undoubtedly we'll conduct diplomatic negotiations with Israel.

On the other hand, he warned that Hamas would go underground and escalate violence if their government was toppled. Quite the extremes here – a Hamas win means possible peace with Israel, while a loss of power would increase violence.

The other two parties involved, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are planning to meet over breakfast tomorrow at a conference for Nobel laureates being held in Petra, Jordan. There won't be any serious policy discussions at the meeting, but it is a minor victory for Abbas, who hasn't met with his Israeli counterpart since a June 2005 summit with Ariel Sharon.

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