US hampers Palestinian unity govt with Hamas

Washington, April 23 (Pal Telegraph)- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday the United States would not deal with or fund a Palestinian government that included Hamas unless it met three international conditions.

"We will not deal with nor in any way fund a Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless and until Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel and agrees to follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian Authority," Clinton told the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee.

Clinton said The United States has pushed for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where an independent Palestinian state exists alongside Israel.

"We want to leave the door open" to including Hamas, Clinton said.

"From everything we hear, there is no intention on the part of Hamas to meet those conditions, but these are not just American conditions. These are the conditions that were adopted by the quartet," she said.

"These are actually the conditions ... in the Arab peace initiative," she said.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Israel and the Palestinians to "step back from the abyss" and invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for separate talks in early June.

Reuters