BRITISH LAWMAKERS URGE TALKS WITH HAMAS

British lawmakers urge talks with Hamas (JTA)
A day after the release of a kidnapped BBC reporter by the Hamas government in Gaza, 20 British Parliament members called for talks with Hamas.

The Parliament members, from across the political spectrum, put forward a motion in the House of Commons urging international engagement with Hamas, which Britain considers a terrorist group.

Hamas' "pivotal role" in ending the four-month abduction of Alan Johnston is a sign that Hamas should be part of Palestinian reconciliation efforts, the motion said. Johnston "acknowledged the pivotal role played by Hamas in condemning the kidnapping and securing his release," it said.

After Johnston's release Wednesday, Britain's new foreign secretary, David Miliband, also "fully acknowledged the crucial role" played by Hamas and its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in securing Johnston's release, though no official softening of the government's stance against Hamas has been announced.

"The international community's support for Mahmoud Abbas as the legitimate President of Palestine should not preclude contact with Hamas," the motion said.

THE FRENCH (!!) ARE MORE RESOLUTE.

Kouchner: Hamas help to free Johnston will not change French policy (YNet)
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Hamas' help in freeing British Broadcasting Corp. Correspondent Alan Johnston in Gaza showed goodwill but was not enough to change France's policy toward the Islamic militant group.

Kouchner said he was very happy that Johnston has been released and his government would take the demonstration of goodwill by Hamas into account "but they were so determined to kill and to chase their Palestinian neighbors ... Fatah, that I have no illusion for the moment," he told reporters (AP)

BUT NOT THE MEDIA: From Munich to Gaza (Melanie Phillips)