HAMAS WARNS OF TERROR AND HATRED IF U.S. DOESN'T GIVE AID

Mashaal warns of 'open battle' with Israel, hatred of US (M&C)
Moscow - Hamas politburo leader Khaled Mashaal called Tuesday for 'fundamental change' in the Quartet of Mideast peace brokers and warned of 'open battle' with Israel and Islamic hatred toward the United States unless Washington resumes aid funding.

'The Arab and Islamic world need a fundamental change in the politics of the Quartet,' Mashaal said of the group of Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, in remarks made during a Moscow visit and quoted by Interfax.

Mashaal added that the 'Arab world demands' the international community react positively to an agreement Hamas struck earlier this month with rival faction Fatah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that promised to pave the way for a future Palestinian unity government.

Mashaal's trip to Moscow marked the second time a Hamas delegation had traveled to the Russian capital since the militant group, ostracized by the West, took control of the Palestinian legislature in elections last year.

The United States and European Union have labled Hamas a terrorist group. The organization's founding charter is committed to the destruction of Israel, and the US-based Council on Foreign Relations estimates Hamas has killed 'more than 500 people in terrorist attacks' since 1993.

Not backing from sharp rhetoric, Mashaal said during a press conference in Moscow Tuesday that the 'refusal of Israel of our rights and the continuation of aggressive policies will lead the region to an open battle,' Itar-Tass reported.

The Hamas leader added that Israeli-led construction near Jerusalem's Temple Mount would end in a 'bloody battle.' ....

The Russian top diplomat also urged the United States and European Union to end what he called an economic 'blockade' against the Palestinian territories. ...

Mashaal demanded in tougher terms that Washington resume its aid funding: 'The American administration's insistence on the continuation of the blockade will give birth to more hatred toward America not only ... on a Palestinian level but on an Arab, Islamic level.'