In a letter handed to Senator Kerry, Hamas asks Obama to deal fairly with the Palestinian cause

Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

Sunday February 22, 2009 02:15 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Ahmed Yousuf, a senior Hamas political leader, and an official of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, stated Saturday that Hamas handed U.S. Sen. John Kerry a letter to deliver to US President, Barrack Obama, asking him to deal fairly with the Palestinian cause as the United States foreign policy is known for being biased in favor of Israel.

During his visit to Gaza, Kerry did not meet with any officials of Hamas as the US considers it a terrorist organization. The letter was handed to United Nations officials who passed it on to Kerry.

Yousuf added that after he learned that Kerry was to visit Gaza, he wrote the letter quickly and handed it to UN officials.

The Hamas official also stated that he asked Obama to be open in dealing with Hamas as the movement enjoys a broad support among the Palestinian people.

Yousuf did not provide detailed information about the contents of the letter, but said that the letter explains Hamas’ positions and attitudes regarding a number of issues.

Hamas spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, said that the letter was endorsed by the Hamas-led government in Gaza.

US President Barrack Obama said that after he took office last month, he wants to improve US relations with the Arab and Muslim world.

Yet, the official policy of the United States is that Hamas is a terrorist group. The US blindly has followed Israeli policies, demanding Hamas to renounce terrorism (as if resistance to the foreign occupation is terrorism), recognize Israel, and recognize all peace deals signed with Israel.

Hamas announced many times that the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, is the one who negotiate with the Israeli occupation government, and that Hamas will accept any agreement Abbas reaches with the Israelis if it is approved by the Palestinian people in a referendum.

Hamas repeatedly offered extended truces with Israel, but the movement says that it cannot recognize an entity that is still occupying the Palestinian lands, prosecutes its people, and has not yet herself defined clear borders, as the settements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, expanded by 5 percent in 2008. The Hamas movement has agreed to recognize Israel based on pre-1967 borders, the international consensus on a two-state solution.

The movement also stated that the right to resist is an internationally guaranteed right to any nation living under military occupation.

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