THE WAR ON TERROR

As if the situation in the middle east is not complicated enough, it has emerged that British diplomats have been having secret meetings with members of Hamas, a terrorist organisation which has been responsible for suicide terror attacks in Israel.

Hamas has also claimed responsibility for the recent rocket attack which left one woman injured in the Israeli town of Sderot. The organisation is openly committed to the destruction of the state of Israel.

Jack Straw has claimed that the meetings were with elected town mayors of Hamas, and not the leadership. One presumes that he is trying to draw up distinctions between good and bad Hamas members.

An Israeli official has stated: ‘There is no difference between the political and military arms of Hamas. This is a terror organisation. Any attempt to make a distinction is very dangerous because it would mean you legitimise part of the organisation but you don’t stop the terror activity of the other part’.

The talks have also broken the ban on links with a list of British and American proscribed organisations.

Not surprisingly, the Israelis are outraged. By what right has a British government to be sending officials to hob nob with such people at a time when there are signs of progress in the Israeli/Palestinian dispute? We should not be interfering behind the backs of the Israelis in this way, nor bringing to bear our expertise of tolerating terrorism (as we are prepared to tolerate terrorism in Northern Ireland).