Former Mossad Chief Urges "Israeli" Talks with Hamas

Source: Al-Manar TV, 25-06-2008

‘Israel' should hold talks with Hamas since no peace agreement with the Palestinians is viable without the inclusion of the Islamic Resistance group, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said Tuesday.

The former spy chief's opinion clashes with the government's long-standing position of shunning Hamas for its refusal to recognize ‘Israel' or renounce violence.

But Halevy said that any peace accord reached with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas without Hamas was likely to be ineffective and "remain on the shelf" since the Fatah leader was both weak and lacked authority.

"It is difficult to believe that it is possible to reach an understanding with the Palestinians without Hamas being part of the solution," Halevy said in an address to the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency for ‘Israel' board of governors meeting in Jerusalem.

The former spy-master said that ‘Israel' was "far away" from an end to the conflict with the Palestinians, and noted that in the years ahead would deal with conflict management and not conflict resolution. "The question is how to contain the flames," Halevy said.

He suggested that a peace agreement would likely take generations, noting that Palestinian geography textbooks, in both the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as well as the Fatah-led West Bank, do not include the State of ‘Israel' on the map.

His remarks come just days after ‘Israel' reached a six-month cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza after months of on-again off-again negotiations via Egyptian intermediaries.