Hamas: South African government invited us for talks with officials
Haaretz ^ | 02/03/2006
 

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri: "The visit in itself is a declaration of the failure of pressures exerted by the U.S. on the world to besiege Hamas"
A Hamas spokesman said Thursday that the militant group has been invited to South Africa for talks with officials.

No timetable has been set for the visit, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

The invitation dealt yet another blow to Israel's efforts to isolate Hamas, which has refused to renounce its violent anti-Israel campaign since sweeping Palestinian elections on January 25.

"We would be concerned that giving legitimacy to an unreformed Hamas could stifle the possibility that the movement will transform itself from a terrorist organization to a political party," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

Hamas in Moscow

Hamas will head to Russia on Friday for its first official visit with a major power involved in Palestinian-Israeli peacemaking, in an attempt to push its position onto the international stage and gain legitimacy.

"The visit in itself is a declaration of the failure of pressures exerted by the United States on the world to besiege Hamas," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Thursday. "Now Hamas is on the threshold of international legitimacy, thanks to the visit by Hamas leaders to Moscow."

"We will listen to the Russian government's vision on the Arab-Israeli conflict and we will clarify our own vision," Abu Zuhri added.

Although it deals a blow to U.S.-led efforts to isolate Hamas since it swept Palestinian elections in January, Russia's mediation is seen by some in the West as a chance to talk the faction into renouncing violence and recognizing Israel.
 

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