Hamas says will never recognise Israel

MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday the Islamist militant group Hamas would never recognise Israel.

Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, said in an interview from Gaza with Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah's al-Manar television: "Hamas will never recognise the legitimacy of the occupation (Israel)."

"Hamas will never show flexibility over the issue of recognising the legitimacy of the occupation," he added.

Hamas took control of the Palestinian government last March after winning parliamentary elections a year ago.

Haniyeh said there had been "an encouraging start" to efforts aimed at forming a Palestinian national unity government with rival movement Fatah.

"I am full of hope that these efforts could succeed and I hope that the national unity government could see the light in the nearest time possible if the intentions were honest," he said.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah called for new elections last month, raising the stakes in his power struggle with Hamas. Some Palestinians fear the fighting could lead to civil war. Haniyeh renewed his rejection of Abbas's election call.

He said Hamas would never agree to conditions set by Western powers, which also included accepting previous interim peace accords signed in the 1990s by the Palestine Liberation Organisation with Israel.

Gaza, Tuesday, Reuters.