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WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN Scott McClellan said President Bush’s peace efforts would continue and he urged all parties in the region to dismantle the “infrastructure of terror.”
“Hamas is an enemy of peace and we will continue working with all parties to try to achieve peace,” McClellan said.
A senior Hamas official said Friday the militant group was breaking off cease-fire talks with the Palestinian prime minister. The official, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, spoke just hours after Israeli troops killed two of the group’s activists in an arrest raid in the West Bank.
But talks with Hamas leaders abroad continue, a Palestinian Cabinet minister said, suggesting there was still a chance to reach an agreement to end Hamas violence including suicide attacks against Israelis.
As part of the U.S.-backed “road map” to Palestinian statehood, the Palestinians must disarm and dismantle militant groups that have killed hundreds of Israelis in shootings and bombings in 32 months of fighting.
Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, has been trying to negotiate with the militias rather than use force, saying he wants to avoid civil war. It was not clear whether a Hamas refusal to negotiate a truce would set the stage for a crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
TOO MANY CONCESSIONS
Rantisi, a Hamas leader and hard-liner, told reporters Friday that efforts to reach a truce were off. He said Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, made too many concessions at a summit Wednesday in Jordan. At the meeting with President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Abbas called for an end to the “armed intifada.”
“We were shocked when we saw Abu Mazen and his new government giving up all the Palestinians’ rights,” he said. “Abu Mazen committed himself in front of Bush and Sharon to very dangerous issues that closed the door of dialogue between us.”
Other Hamas officials said they would meet Saturday with Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group, to persuade it to break off truce talks as well. Hamas, founded in 1987, is vehemently oppose to peace with Israel.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Ziad Abu Amr, Abbas’ liaison to Hamas, said he has not received official word from Hamas that talks were finished, but said the killing of the two Hamas activists by Israeli troops was hampering the effort.
“Israel’s continuation of the policy of assassinations and incursion is an obstacle in the way of efforts of dialogue with the Palestinian parties and the possibility of reaching a cease-fire with them,” Abu Amr said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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I tried to tell you they never wanted peace....
WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN Scott McClellan said President Bush’s peace efforts would continue and he urged all parties in the region to dismantle the “infrastructure of terror.”
“Hamas is an enemy of peace and we will continue working with all parties to try to achieve peace,” McClellan said.
A senior Hamas official said Friday the militant group was breaking off cease-fire talks with the Palestinian prime minister. The official, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, spoke just hours after Israeli troops killed two of the group’s activists in an arrest raid in the West Bank.
But talks with Hamas leaders abroad continue, a Palestinian Cabinet minister said, suggesting there was still a chance to reach an agreement to end Hamas violence including suicide attacks against Israelis.
As part of the U.S.-backed “road map” to Palestinian statehood, the Palestinians must disarm and dismantle militant groups that have killed hundreds of Israelis in shootings and bombings in 32 months of fighting.
Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, has been trying to negotiate with the militias rather than use force, saying he wants to avoid civil war. It was not clear whether a Hamas refusal to negotiate a truce would set the stage for a crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
TOO MANY CONCESSIONS
Rantisi, a Hamas leader and hard-liner, told reporters Friday that efforts to reach a truce were off. He said Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, made too many concessions at a summit Wednesday in Jordan. At the meeting with President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Abbas called for an end to the “armed intifada.”
“We were shocked when we saw Abu Mazen and his new government giving up all the Palestinians’ rights,” he said. “Abu Mazen committed himself in front of Bush and Sharon to very dangerous issues that closed the door of dialogue between us.”
Other Hamas officials said they would meet Saturday with Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group, to persuade it to break off truce talks as well. Hamas, founded in 1987, is vehemently oppose to peace with Israel.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Ziad Abu Amr, Abbas’ liaison to Hamas, said he has not received official word from Hamas that talks were finished, but said the killing of the two Hamas activists by Israeli troops was hampering the effort.
“Israel’s continuation of the policy of assassinations and incursion is an obstacle in the way of efforts of dialogue with the Palestinian parties and the possibility of reaching a cease-fire with them,” Abu Amr said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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I tried to tell you they never wanted peace....