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WASHINGTON: US negotiators do not believe Palestinian militants Hamas will join direct Middle East peace talks set to resume this week, US envoy George Mitchell said Tuesday.
"We do not expect Hamas to play a role in this immediate process," Mitchell told journalists Tuesday amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in Washington to breathe fresh impetus into the negotiations after a 20-month hiatus.
But he added the United States would "welcome the full participation by Hamas and all relevant parties once they comply with the basic requirements of democracy and non-violence that are, of course, a prerequisite to engage in
these serious types of discussions."
Hamas has formally rejected Washington's call for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks to resume at a summit on Thursday called by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The last round of direct talks collapsed when Israel launched a devastating three-week offensive in Gaza in December 2008 in a bid to halt rocket fire from the enclave ruled by the militant Hamas movement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas both arrived in Washington Tuesday for a round of talks with senior US officials, including with US President Barack Obama.
-AFP/wk
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