Hamas breaks off ceasefire talks

Reuters | 6/06/03

[kattracks]

GAZA (Reuters) - The militant Islamic group Hamas says it is breaking off talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas on ending its attacks on Israelis.

"The dialogue has ended," Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a Hamas leader told Reuters.

He said Abbas made unacceptable commitments at a U.S.-led summit with Israel in Aqaba, Jordan, on Wednesday.

Abbas called at the landmark gathering, which he attended with U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, for an end to the Palestinian armed struggle for statehood.

Hamas has spearheaded attacks on Israelis, including dozens of suicide attacks, during a 32-month-old Palestinian uprising for independence.

Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, held several rounds of truce talks with Hamas before this week's summit and expressed confidence he could achieve a ceasefire soon in further meetings with the group, which rejects peacemaking with Israel.

"Abu Mazen has stopped the dialogue when he committed himself to some issues not accepted by Hamas and will never be accepted by the Palestinian people," Rantissi said.

Rantissi made the comments a day after Israel killed two Hamas gunmen in a raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarm.

[MatthewViti]

Looks as though the road mail has failed, no surprise.

[MatthewViti]

mail, lol

MAP

[Principled]

Not even European politicians can publicly side with people who explicitly say they're going to either kill the Jews or push them into the sea.

Never underestimate the Europeans.

[Principled]

Looks as though the road mail has failed, no surprise

What was the real purpose of the roadmap? Has it not been achieved?

[Bill Davis FR]

i wonder how well rantissi sleeps...

[kjam22]

What was the real purpose of the roadmap? Has it not been achieved?

purpose.... to "somke em' out"? "get em' runnin'"? I'd say it has done that. Be interesting to see what we do now.

[Principled]

Yeah. I think we have at least ID'd the group that wants to prevent peace.

[DarthVader]

I say open fire on Hamas and don't stop until they are all kaput!!

[yonif]

Hamas is as terrorist as the group Abu Mazen is second in charge of (the PLO). These two terrorist groups, along with the others such as Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa, etc. must be destroyed and never be negotiated with. The Roadmap is a document the US pushed Israel to accept along the PLO (a terrorist organization).

[roses of sharon]

But, Peter Jennings said that Israel's "extremists" would cause a breakdown in peace talks!

He claimed that Hamas was a Palestinian "group".

[yonif]

You know, Abu Mazen is the second in command to the terrorist organization PLO. The PLO stands for "Palestine Liberation Organization." Some people might think, "Oh, they are trying to liberate the lands that Israel took in 1967." There is one MAJOR problem with that ignorant remark some people might say and that is that the PLO was ESTABLISHED IN 1964! 3 YEARS BEFORE THE "OCCUPATION" Began. SO...THEY WANTED TO LIBERATE (i.e. destroy) Israel. That is what they were in the past, that is what they are now. The Palestinian Authority is nothing but a suit for the PLO. This roadmap is a joke as it negotiates with this group. Bush is wrong on pursuing this illusion of negotiation with terrorists while at the same time elminating them. A PLO state will be a terrorist state. We must allow Israel to pursue its war on terrorism.

[yonif]

The leftist media loves making the settlers in Israel equivalent to the Arab terrorists.

[hchutch]

As for Hamas: Wipe them out. All of them.

[Mr.Clark]

I totally agree. Hamas is in the tough spot now. What are they going to do, kill Mazen? That would be a disaster for them and their "image" as freedom fighters. Now they are the ones who are clearly standing against peace.

[rocky88]

Wasn't it agreed shortly after 9/11 that we would not negotiate with terrorists??? I surely doubt that President Bush will let Hamas or Islamic Jihad stand in the way of peace between Israel and Palestine. He's too tough for that.

Now get in there and give them the "Taliban treatment!"

[Courier]

I expect any minute now to hear a statement from the White House that the Road Map is suspended until Abbas fulfills the very first condition to disarm Hamas and the other gangs and lock up its terrorist leaders.

That was a lame joke.

I expect no such thing from the White House. I expect this to be ignored and more pressure to be put on Israel. Clinton like.

For those who don't believe that we are selling Israel out to their mortal enemies, and the irony is that their enemies are our enemies, what will it take?

As we start to count and ignore dead Israelis, ignore successful terrorist events, ignore failed attempts, ignore incitements; when will the Administration admit that it see no Palestinian evil, hear no Palestinian evil and speak pressure on Israel, is identical to Clinton's shameful policy.

[redhead]

"Why would anyone attempt to negotiate with terrorists like Hamas? They need to be locked up or removed from this earth. Period."

I agree. I believe this is some more strategery, similar to what was used when Bush was trying to put together a coalition for the Iraqi War. He accommodates and tries, but only to a point. Then he simply says, "all bets are off," and makes other plans.

[redhead]

"One would think that if we can get pictures of these guys marching in the street.... we could just as easily hit them with a moab while they are marching."

Yep. Where's a Predator when we need one? Or two?

[cake_crumb]

Did ANYONE seriously think a terrorist group was serious about peace? Well, a few probably did...they're probably on their way to Gaza right now in order to throw themselves beneath moving bulldozers....and it'll all be spun as the JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ fault, of course.

[Skip Ripley]

Screw this. Push the damn Pali's back accross the Jordan river. Jordan is thier homeland, it's not Israel's fault that the Jordanians don't want them either.