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Israel Dismisses Hamas Chief's Hints at Future Negotiations

(Ha'aretz) Ha'aretz Service - Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom Wednesday dismissed as a "tactic" remarks by Hamas chief Mahmoud Zahar, who hinted at openness to future negotiations with Israel. Zahar said Wednesday that he does not rule out the possibility of negotiations with Israel should it serve Palestinian interests. Shalom said Zahar's remarks represented no substantive change in the positions or aims of Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and had carried out large numbers of terror bombings and ambushes against Israelis. Asked if Israel still believed that Hamas should be disqualified from taking part in PA elections, Shalom said, "Hamas has disqualified itself. You have only to open the first page of the Hamas Charter, and see that Hamas rules out the existence of the State of Israel and calls for its destruction." Amos Gilad, Defense Ministry policy chief for diplomatic negotiations, said, "There is no concession here, there is no basis for recognizing Israel as a country with the right to exist. The ideology has not changed....Their strategic goals have not changed. The only thing that has changed at the moment is that they want to go to elections."
2005-11-09 00:00:00
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