Clinton: I would be prepared to shake hands with Hamas

[tocqueville]

1 hour, 6 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton said in a television interview that he would shake hands with Hamas if they provided the same assurances on rejecting terror as the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Clinton spoke with BBC television as the US State Department announced that the United States had suspended all contact with the Palestinian government led by Hamas, who won an overwhelming victory in the Palestinian general election in January.

Clinton, whose eight-year presidency ended in 2001, said he would be prepared to support dealing with the Islamist group if they agreed to negotiate and turn their backs on terrorism.

The United States, European Union and Israel all regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation, given its track record of suicide bombings and its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060401/pl_afp/mideastuspalestinian_060401001759

[theoldman]

1. We cannot ignore Hamas and wish them away.

We ignored China for many years while Japan, their mortal enemy, did business with them. Perhaps 30 million Chinese would still be alive today if we had not ignored the Chinese government.