Abbas urges next Israeli government to cooperate

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2006

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AFP) — Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas called on the next Israeli government to work with the Palestinians, who are set to be led by a Hamas-run cabinet from this week.

"Any Israeli government must cooperate with us and must not ignore the Palestinian side," Abbas said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Israel has refused to have any dealings with a government led by Hamas, the Islamist group that has carried out dozens of suicide bombings, unless it renounces violence, honours past agreements and recognizes the Jewish state.

But Abbas said he would not block the new Palestinian government from taking office despite his objections to the political platform of Hamas, which is...