Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Monday accused the United States of undermining Palestinian unity efforts and said he saw no chance for peace in the Middle East under Israel's current leadership. Shunned in the West because his Islamist group refuses to recognise Israel - a position he said stands - Meshaal used a hospitable Russia as a platform to blame Washington and Israel's hard-line government for a lack of progress.
His remarks underscored barriers on the road to Palestinian reconciliation and to renewing Middle East peace talks. Hamas wants a reconciliation deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' rival Fatah movement "as fast as possible", Meshaal told a news conference after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who invited him to Moscow.
"Unfortunately, there are a whole series of hurdles to a swift reconciliation, first of all external influence and concerted pressure from the United States," he said, which he said was using "various means" to scuttle the efforts. Meshaal did not elaborate, but said portions of an Egyptian-drafted reconciliation deal had been changed without consultation with Hamas and that the group would not sign it unless they were restored.
Meshaal blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for what Hamas has called a collapse of indirect talks to exchange captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for some of the more than 7,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails. "The reason is the game Netanyahu is playing," Meshaal said through an interpreter. Israel has demanded that dozens of Palestinians imprisoned after being convicted of involvement in lethal attacks be deported upon their release.
Comments
Comments are closed.