ROME, JANUARY 13 - Dialogue with the Gaza-based militant Islamist group Hamas is not possible, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Tuesday. Hamas must stop firing rockets from Gaza into Israel and recognise Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he said. "Dialogue with Hamas is not possible because we cannot legitimise a second Palestinian state," Frattini said as Israel stepped up an 18-day offensive in Gaza which has killed 900 Palestinians. "Hamas must do one thing only: stop firing rockets, recognise Mahmoud Abbas's authority and avoid building in Gaza a second state that breaks the unity of the Palestinian state". The position of not negotiating with Hamas was shared by United States President-elect Barack Obama, Egypt and the European Union, which "in fact lists Hamas as a terrorist organisation," the foreign minister said. Frattini is due to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Syria later this week in a bid to open up unrestricted aid to Gaza and secure its border with Egypt under Abbas's authority.
Source: ANSAmed
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