ISRAEL REJECTS EURO CALLS TO END ISOLATION OF HAMAS

Israel Rejects Calls to End Isolation of Hamas - Donald Macintyre and Anne Penketh
Tzipi Livni, Israel's Foreign Minister, denounced calls for talks with Hamas by warning that "any compromise with terror, any compromise with these extremists" could undermine the new government set up in the West Bank by Mahmoud Abbas. Livni said: "I know that it looks tempting and I know that the international community is eager to see a kind of understanding between Hamas and Fatah." But she warned at a news conference with her visiting Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso: "This is wrong. This is a mistake. Big mistake. Huge." (Independent-UK)

See also Italy Stresses Quartet Conditions for Hamas Dialogue
Italian Premier Romano Prodi telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday after his comments about having a dialogue with Hamas drew sharp criticism from Israel and praise from Hamas. In the phone call, Prodi stressed that Hamas must fulfill conditions set out by the Quartet of Mideast peace negotiators before negotiations can resume: recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept existing agreements. (AP/International Herald Tribune)