Thursday, October 11, 2007

Haniyeh Hamas rule in Gaza temporary

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday night that Hamas would be willing to hold talks with Fatah and hinted that it would consider ceding control of the Gaza Strip, Aljazeera reported. "There is a serious improvement in Palestinian dialogue, and we have agreed to hold talks with Fatah in one of the Arab capitals," read Haniyeh's statement, which was posted on a pro-Hamas Hamas website.
Haniyeh also said the Hamas administration in Gaza was "temporary," adding that dialogue with Fatah would be established following Ramadan.
Meanwhile, VOA reported that a number of former senior US government officials have tried to egg the Bush administration into creating a dialogue with Hamas.
According to the report, the group, which includes former Carter administration national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former House International Relations Committee Chairman Lee Hamilton, wrote a letter to Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requesting that Hamas be included in diplomacy leading up to the upcoming peace summit in Novemeber.
According to the petition, which did not specify whether Hamas should actually be invited to the parley, a dialogue with the Islamic group would pressure both sides to break the deadlock and arrive at an agreement.
Reportedly, the letter also commended President Bush on his efforts to coax Syria into attending the summit.

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