Hamas says US undermining Europeans on unity deal

By Staff
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GAZA, Feb 22 (Reuters) The Islamic militant group Hamas accused the United States today of trying to thwart European efforts to ease an economic blockade of a new Palestinian unity government.

The so-called Quartet of Middle East mediators, comprising the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, repeated a demand on Wednesday that any Palestinian government renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept interim peace deals.

Though the unity government fell short of directly meeting those demands, Western diplomats said the agreement between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction widened divisions within the Quartet.

The United States and Israel want to continue to shun the unity government; Russia and some other European governments favour a softer line.

Hamas cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad said the group, which took control of the Palestinian government in March after winning parliamentary elections, was encouraged by what it called a ''wait and see'' approach by the Quartet.

Citing divisions between the United States and some European countries over policy, Hamad said: ''I believe there is a possibility to change the Quartet's position in a more positive manner to deal with the government.'' But Palestinian Information Minister Youssef Rizqa of Hamas said: ''It (the United States) aims to undermine the European and Russian efforts in order to continue the siege imposed on our people.'' Israel pointed to statements by the Quartet after a meeting in Berlin as a sign that the group would hold the new government to the three conditions. ''They're not obstacles to peace, they are prerequisites for a successful peace process,'' Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

POVERTY RATES The US-led boycott of the Hamas-led government has pushed the Palestinian Authority to the brink of financial collapse and raised poverty rates in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.

A report by the UN World Food Programme, released on Thursday, estimated that nearly half of Palestinians were unable to produce or access the food they needed.

Palestinians hope the coalition deal, which ended weeks of fighting between Hamas and Fatah in which more than 90 people died, can avert a Palestinian civil war.

Violence flared up briefly in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday after a leader of the militant Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) was shot and killed by a Palestinian policeman.

Palestinian security sources said the shooting was accidental but a PRC spokesman said it was deliberate.

Members of the dead man's family attacked a police station and forced the closure of shops in the downtown area but there appeared to be no connection between the incident and previous tensions between Hamas and Fatah.

The unity government agreement, which calmed weeks of factional warfare that killed more than 90 Palestinians, contained a vague promise to ''respect'' previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

But the pact did not directly commit the new government to renouncing violence or recognising Israel.

REUTERS SAM PM2104

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