Israel's deputy prime minister Haim Ramon has said publicly that his government was in talks with Hamas. Ramon is the first government minister who has acknowledged that contacts between the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and Israeli officials exist. The talks appear to be taking place through a mediator, the Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who met with Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak in Sharm-al-Sheik on Monday. Ramon made his comments at a Kadima faction meeting during a discussion on Gaza policy.
Also on Monday, a retired French diplomat told the 'Le Figaro' newspaper that he had met top Hamas leaders recently to hear their views on a ceasefire with Israel and reconciliation with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. The report prompted French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner to admit the contacts were at the behest of the French government, though Paris was firm on insisting that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist and foresake terrorism before it could be formally engaged.
"Having contacts is necessary," Kouchner said on 'Europe 1' radio. "They are not relations, they are contacts." Israeli officials said they had been reassured by France there was no change in its policies toward Hamas. So far, relations between France and Hamas have been limited to intelligence services. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly said that he would not meet with terrorists or "people who assassinate." The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
