Merkel angry over Hamas minister's German visit

BERLIN, May 17 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is deeply annoyed about a visit to Germany by a Hamas minister in the Palestinian government and would have preferred he had not come, a government spokesman said today.

''The chancellor described this business as particularly irritating. She spoke of it as unpleasant and annoying,'' government spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters, citing Merkel's comments made to the cabinet earlier.

''The German government rules out any contact with Hamas members.

The Hamas minister who came to Germany is an unwanted person for the German government,'' Steg said.

Palestinian Refugees Minister Atef Odwan had travelled to Germany on a Swedish-issued EU ''Schengen'' visa that enabled him to get into Germany without any problems, Steg said. It was not immediately clear whether he came by air, rail, car or boat.

Sweden was the first European Union country to grant a Hamas minister a visa since the Islamic militant group won control of the Palestinian Authority. The move was criticised last week by Israel but was defended by Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson.

The Swedish authorities had apparently entered Odwan's name into their computer system without marking him as problematic, a European diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Odwan was in Germany to meet parliamentarians and lobby in favour of direct aid for the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

A German government official said Berlin had sent a note to Stockholm several days ago formally protesting against Sweden's decision to issue Odwan a Schengen visa.

One Member of Parliament from the Social Democrats (SPD), the centre-left party that rules in coalition with Merkel's conservatives, confirmed he had met Odwan, who left Germany yesterday. It was not immediately clear how long he had stayed in the country.

''It was an unofficial, if you will, a private meeting. It was planned for 30 minutes but ended up being 40 minutes,'' said Detlef Dzembritzki, chairman of the sub-committee on the United Nations and a member of the committee on foreign affairs in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament.

The 25-nation EU decided last month to suspend direct aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government over its failure to renounce violence and recognise Israel.

The Palestinian Authority is 1.3 billion dollar in debt and has no income to pay long overdue salaries to 165,000 government employees, deepening hardship in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

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