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Bush Condemns Hamas in Radio Address
President Bush issued a sharp condemnation of Hamas late today, accusing the Palestinian militant group of provoking Israeli military action with rocket attacks and increasing the death toll by secreting its arms within civilian populations. In his weekly radio address, to be broadcast Saturday morning, Bush also said he would not support "another one-way ceasefire," and he called for a strict monitoring system to curtail weapons smuggling into Gaza. A transcript of the address was released a day ahead of broadcast. "This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel's destruction," Bush said. He also referred to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who rules the West Bank, as "the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people." "I urge all parties to pressure Hamas to turn away from terror, and to support legitimate Palestinian leaders working for peace," he said. The address marked Bush's first public comments on the conflict since Israel began targeting Hamas positions with airstrikes on Saturday. Posted by: Fred 2009-01-04 |
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