Hamas Denies Trying to Give Obama Letter
By VOA News
20 February 2009
The Palestinian militant group Hamas is denying that it tried to pass on a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama. However, the group said it is open to holding talks with any country that supports its interests.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum commented Friday after a United Nations agency in Gaza said a letter addressed to Mr. Obama was left at its compound.
A U.N. spokesman said the agency (UNRWA) thinks the letter was from Hamas, although nobody there read it. The agency gave the letter to visiting U.S. Senator John Kerry.
The United States and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organization, and neither nation engages in direct talks with the Islamist group.
President Obama, who took office last month, is reviewing U.S. policy in the Middle East and has indicated he wants to improve U.S. ties with the Muslim world.
Senator Kerry is on a regional tour of the Middle East.
The lawmaker, who is the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the highest-level U.S. official to visit Gaza in years. He did not meet with Hamas representatives during his visit to Gaza.
Although Israel and Hamas are both observing an informal cease-fire in Gaza, some attacks continue from both sides of the border.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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