Hamas to Saudis: Don't show up for Mideast summit
Group urges Saudi Arabia, other Arab nations not to attend US-sponsored regional peace conference scheduled for November, fearing it would be a way for Arab world to establish ties with Israel
Hamas on Tuesday called on Saudi Arabia and other nations not to attend the upcoming US-sponsored Mideast peace conference, the first time it has appealed directly to Arab states to stay away.
The group also warned Arab countries against offering concessions to Israel. Hamas has spoken out consistently against the conference, called by US President George W. Bush to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Hamas has said any decisions made there would not be binding.
Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have been meeting to work out proposals for the conference, set tentatively for November, despite Hamas objections.
In a statement Tuesday, Hamas said it fears the conference would be a way for Arabs to establish relations with Israel. Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan maintain full diplomatic ties with Israel.
Hamas "warns against the fall meeting becoming a new door for capitulation to be offered by the negotiators, and a door to (Arab) normalization," the statement said. "We urge our Arab brothers not to go down this dark tunnel, and we appeal especially to Saudi Arabia not to participate in this conference."
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have said they would attend only if concrete results are achieved. Saudi Arabia brokered the unity deal between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah that ended with the violent ousting of Fatah forces from Gaza in June.
