LONDON, Dec 14: The United States and the European Union are in contact with Hamas despite having listed it as a terrorist organization, a Hamas leader said in an interview broadcast on Monday.
Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal told BBC television that the militant group, which has been at the forefront of a four-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, has no plans to agree a cease fire unless it is decided by a referendum or negotiated among all Palestinian powers.
Mr Meshaal said violence and negotiations for peace went hand in hand and that Hamas would reject calls for a cease fire even if they came from a new Palestinian president, who is expected to be elected next month.
"Negotiating without resistance leads to surrender but negotiating with resistance leads to real peace," Mr Meshaal said. He revealed Washington made contact with Hamas recently and the EU is still holding meetings with it.
"The European Union, which put Hamas on a list of terrorist organizations, is still continuing communications and meetings," Mr Meshaal said. "The American administration, which also put us on terror lists and criticizes us, contacted us in the past months."
A spokeswoman for the EU's executive commission said she was unaware of any contact between the bloc and Hamas. There was no immediate comment from the United States State Department and a White House official dismissed the comments. "We've heard these reports but we're not aware of anything that would substantiate them," the official said. -Reuters
