WASHINGTON, June 25: US President George Bush urged European leaders on Wednesday to take “swift and decisive action” against extremist groups like Hamas by cutting off their sources of funding and support.

“I urge the leaders in Europe, and around the world, to take swift and decisive action against terror groups such as Hamas, to cut off their funding and support as the United States has done,” he said.

The US leader spoke after receiving European Commission president Romano Prodi and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country holds the revolving EU presidency, in the Oval Office and then hosting a working lunch.

Asked about reports, denied by Palestinian militant leaders, of a tentative ceasefire with Israel, Mr Bush said: “I’ll believe it when I see it, knowing the history of the terrorists in the Middle East.

“The true tests for Hamas and terrorist organizations is the complete dismantlement of their terrorist networks, their capacity to blow up the peace process,” the president said.

The Palestinian denials of a ceasefire came after Israeli helicopter missiles and ground forces killed four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, straining efforts at engineering a truce in support of the roadmap just three weeks after its launch.

The European Union in the past has considered the Hamas’s political and military wings to be acting separately.—Reuters