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Mash'al: Arab states must not rush to normalize Israel ties
Ma'an/Agencies -- Senior Hamas leader Khalid Mash'al on Sunday warned Arab states to be wary of Israel's proposal to temporarily slow settlement construction in exchange for normalization of ties, describing it as a "dangerous equation.""There is an Israeli effort to avoid the American demands, Mash'al said, referring to US call for a total settlement freeze. "We warn against any Arab rush toward normalization." Speaking during a news conference in Cairo on Sunday, Mash'al said he welcomed the Obama administration's calls for a settlement freeze, but said he awaited concrete US measures in the peace process The Hamas political chief was referring to reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to demand a normalization of relations with Arab states in exchange for a partial freeze on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Mash'al, who lives in exile in Damascus, Syria, was speaking alongside Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa after the two held meetings on the internal Palestinian conflict and the larger Arab-Israeli confrontation.
Posted by: Fred 2009-09-07 |
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