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US says it will not dictate to Palestinians on Hamas

Posted on: Friday, 21 October 2005, 12:15 CDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration believes the Palestinian militant group Hamas is a terrorist organization but will not try to dictate to the Palestinians that Hamas should be barred from upcoming parliamentary elections, a senior administration official said on Friday.

The position puts Washington at odds with the Israeli stance and calls into question Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's suggestion that he would impede voting in the West Bank unless Hamas stays out.

"Our views on Hamas are well known. Hamas is a terrorist organization. We will not deal with a terrorist organization. However, we believe that it's up to the Palestinians to determine who will participate in their election," the senior administration official said.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, has spearheaded suicide bombings and rocket attacks during an uprising since 2000.

Hamas plans to challenge the Fatah group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in legislative elections in January for the first time, a move Israel opposes.

Abbas met President George W. Bush at the White House on Thursday. At a joint news conference, Bush did not publicly back Israel's demand that Hamas be banned from the ballot unless it renounces violence.

"We are not going to write election laws for the Palestinians," the senior official said. "This is their election. They will determine who the participants are."

However, the official noted of Hamas: "They're terrorists. Armed groups operating inside a democratic state are antithetical to the building of a democracy."

U.S. officials and diplomats have said that any shift in policy was pragmatic: Hamas-funded social services are popular with many Palestinians; it is winning local races and could make a strong showing in the parliamentary elections. Some Hamas-backed politicians and affiliates are seen as moderates.

European allies, including Britain and France, have been pushing behind the scenes for Washington to drop its call to dismantle Hamas completely.

Source: REUTERS

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