Hamas spokesman accuses US of deluding Palestinians

A senior Hamas official described US Secretary of State John Kerry’s Friday announcement on the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as a “disaster” and said it would lead to further settlement building and the displacement of Palestinians.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Ma’an news agency Saturday that the negotiations are just a cover for the Israeli “agenda of Judaization” and that they threatened Palestinian reconciliation.

“Stopping political reconciliation [between Fatah and Hamas] for negotiations between the PA and Israel is very dangerous,” Barhoum said. “For Hamas, reconciliation is a strategy that must be implemented instantly in light of the current Arab and global situation and US and European collusion with Israel.”

According to Ma’an, Barhoum accused the United States of deluding the Palestinian Authority into thinking that there will be a positive outcome in negotiations with Israel.

On Friday, Kerry announced that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to resume peace talks without preconditions, after a more than a three-year freeze on progress.

Kerry said on Friday that Livni, Netanyahu’s envoy Isaac Molcho and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat would meet in Washington within the next week or so to resume negotiations.