(Times-UK) Simon Freeman - Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, was facing pressure Tuesday to sever emerging diplomatic ties between Europe and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as he met his counterpart in Jerusalem. Straw admitted that British officials had met elected leaders of Hamas twice since the faction gained in last month's municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza. A spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry said: "Hamas is part of the problem, not part of the solution. They are committed to jihad, they do not believe Israel should exist....When we have a period of relative quiet, we know that Hamas is stockpiling weapons, training suicide bombers, and is getting ready for a third wave where they will launch suicide bombers against Israelis."
2005-06-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive