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Abbas: Israel talking to Hamas

November 20, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel is conducting secret negotiations with Hamas.

Ha'aretz reported that in an BBC interview in Arabic, Abbas said Israel and Hamas were discussing a Palestinian state with temporary borders. A Hamas spokesman denied the existence of such talks, telling a Palestinian Web site, "We don't negotiate with the enemy."

Abbas also said that the Israeli government wasn't truly interested in peace, and that "Washington isn't pushing Israel enough to advance the peace process."

In the interview, Abbas also said that Palestinian elections scheduled for January would be postponed, and that he had made a final decision not to run for a second term.
 

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