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Cairo asks Washington to give Hamas time
 Egypt's foreign minister said Tuesday it would be premature to cut off international aid for a Palestinian government, even if Hamas is at its helm, dashing Bush administration hopes for a unified front as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood stiffly at his side. "We should give Hamas time," Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said. "I'm sure that Hamas will develop, will evolve. We should not prejudge the issue." | "Yass, yass. Let's not be hasty here." |
That was not the message Rice had hoped to hear from Egypt, an important US ally and Arab powerbroker. The US has praised Egypt for telling Hamas it must moderate its views now that the Islamic group has won elections for control of the Palestinian parliament. Rice, making her first trip to the region since last month's Hamas victory, stood alongside Gheit as he spoke. "If the new Palestinian government led by Hamas is going to be able to meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a peaceful life, for a better life, for a life in which there's economic development, it goes without saying that you cannot have one foot in the camp of terror and the other foot in the camp of politics," Rice said during a crowded and sometimes raucous press conference with Gheit.
Posted by: Fred 2006-02-22 |
