CANADA'S PM WON'T DEAL WITH HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH

Canada's PM won't deal with 'genocidal' Hamas, Hezbollah: report
OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada will not hold talks with "genocidal" groups Hamas and Hezbollah to try to secure Mideast peace, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an interview with broadcaster CTV, to be aired Saturday.

"We will not solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem, as difficult as that is, through organizations that advocate violence and advocate wiping Israel off the face of the Earth," Harper said.

"It's unfortunate because with Hamas, and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, it has made it very difficult to have dialogue -- and dialogue is ultimately necessary to have peace in the long term -- but we are not going to sit down with people whose objectives are ultimately genocidal."

"I think all of the civilized world is agreed -- and it's not just Canada -- we can't deal with organizations whose principle and only objective is terrorism and the eradication of the other side." ...

Harper's Conservative government was the first to withdraw financial aid to the newly-sworn-in Hamas-led Palestinian government in March, even ahead of the United States. Canada also suspended its 7.3 million dollars in annual direct aid to the Palestinians, prompting admonition from former US president Jimmy Carter.