Israel’s foreign minister accused Hamas of seeking to weaken the
European stand on the Palestinian Authority’s policies. Tzipi Livni said
during a visit to Canada late Monday that the governing P.A. faction, which has rejected Western demands that it moderate its
views on Israel, hopes the European Union will accommodate its
intransigence.
“Hamas is looking at Europe, and they want to see this kind
of hesitation,” Livni told reporters. “When they sense this smell of hesitation, why should they change in the future?”
The European Union last
week called on the new coalition government being formed by Hamas and the
moderate faction Fatah to set a diplomatic platform that “reflects” the international community’s preconditions that the Palestinian Authority
recognize Israel, renounce terrorism and accept past rapprochement
efforts. Livni said this did not signify a change in the European
attitude toward Hamas.
“If somebody thinks that Hamas while not recognizing
Israel, while using terror not to create a Palestinian state but to
demolish the Jewish one can be partners to something, they are wrong,”
she said.
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