Abbas rejects pressure to enter direct talks with Israel

PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that in spite of intense international pressure, he is not ready to enter into direct talks with Israel until prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu accepts, in principle, a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines with adjustments.

He was responding to calls from the leaders of Germany, France and Italy pressing him to proceed to engagement. But he said the “entire world” cannot convince him to go “into negotiations without a clear reference” risking “collapse from the outset”. He has the backing of Fatah, which he heads, for this stand as well as for his policy of seeking reconciliation with rival Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Hamas has welcomed direct dialogue with EU members in reply to a statement on Saturday by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that Paris would open talks if requested by Mr Abbas.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stated: “If Kouchner wants to initiate dialogue with Hamas on the basis of supporting the rights and just cause of Palesti- nians, then we are ready for it.”

He said European calls for talks with Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007, reflected the bloc’s “guilty feeling” for backing Israel and making amends to Palestinians for ignoring them. He said France does not need permission to talk to Hamas and urged Europe to break the siege of Gaza.

A second Hamas official, Ismail Radwan, said EU members should shift from the policy of trying to contain Hamas, adopted by the US and EU, and open discussions with the movement. He said Hamas now has “a government and a legislature”, a reference to the structures governing Gaza.

Mr Kouchner’s statement appeared to signal a shift from conditions set by the Quartet, comprising EU, US, UN and Russia following Hamas’s victory in the 2006 parliamentary election.

The Quartet, under strong US pressure, stated that contacts with Hamas depended on its recognition of Israel, an end to violence, and acceptance of agreements reached by the Palestinians and Israel since 1993.

The Quartet has so far refused to agree that Hamas has met these demands by accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders (thereby admitting the presence of Israel) and a long-term ceasefire and recognising outstanding deals. Mr Kouchner’s statement followed last week’s visit to Gaza by European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton who did not meet Hamas officials.