This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6463925.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
US 'ready' for non-Hamas contacts | US 'ready' for non-Hamas contacts |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The US says it has decided that it will have contact with some of the new ministers in the Palestinian unity government, sworn in on Saturday. | |
A US consular official in Jerusalem said the US would maintain contact with ministers it feels it can work with. | A US consular official in Jerusalem said the US would maintain contact with ministers it feels it can work with. |
US officials deny this amounts to a shift in policy, saying they will still not deal with Hamas. | US officials deny this amounts to a shift in policy, saying they will still not deal with Hamas. |
Israeli PM Ehud Olmert urged the international community to have nothing to do with the new government. | |
Mr Olmert said the platform of the Palestinian government led by Ismail Haniya of Hamas included "some extremely problematic elements which can't be accepted by Israel or the international community". | |
Mr Olmert said the programme fell short of international demands to renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept past peace agreements. | |
The prime minister's policy statement was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Israeli cabinet on Sunday. | |
'Ending isolation' | 'Ending isolation' |
The US said on Sunday it was ready to deal with Palestinian government ministers who were not members of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist group by Washington. | |
We can't maintain contact with the government or its ministers when you consider that this is a government that does not accept the conditions of the international community and sees terror as a legitimate goal Ehud OlmertIsraeli Prime Minister | |
"Individuals who are not members of foreign terrorist organisations but who do hold office in the unity government, we do not rule out contact with those individuals," said Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, spokeswoman for the US consulate in Jerusalem. | |
It seems the US has decided to subtly change its stance towards the Palestinian government, says the BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem. | |
The national unity government now contains ministers from a number of parties, including Fatah of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. | |
By stating the US will deal with some ministers, Washington is bringing to an end the political isolation it helped to impose on the Palestinian government, our correspondent says. | |
He says that other countries, most notably in Europe, have also signalled a similar change in stance. | |
Israel had hoped to be able to persuade the international community to maintain its boycott of the Palestinian government which Israel deems unacceptable. | Israel had hoped to be able to persuade the international community to maintain its boycott of the Palestinian government which Israel deems unacceptable. |
'Implicit recognition' | |
On Sunday, the Palestinian cabinet held its first session in Gaza City and by video link in Ramallah. Mr Abbas was also present. | |
Clashes between Fatah and Hamas gunmen have left scores dead | |
The government pledged to tackle rampant lawlessness and end the crippling international aid freeze, imposed after Hamas won elections in January last year. | |
On Saturday, PM Ismail Haniya said his goal was the creation of a Palestinian state that included lands occupied by Israel in 1967. | |
Our correspondent says that some see this as an implicit recognition of Israel's existence, in contrast with Hamas' past calls to eliminate the Jewish state. | |
Mr Abbas has appointed a senior official in his Fatah party, Mohammed Dahlan, as national security adviser. | |
Mr Dahlan is known to be a strong opponent of Hamas, and has been involved in frequent verbal clashes with its leaders. |