Obama aide denies report he will launch low-level contact with Hamas

A spokesperson for U.S. president-elect Barack Obama on Friday denied a report that Obama is expected to engage Hamas in dialogue, after he takes office.

The U.K. newspaper The Guardian reported on Thursday quoted unnamed sources reportedly close to Obama's transition team, who said he has been urged by close advisors to launch low-level contact with Hamas.

"The President-elect has repeatedly stated that he believes that Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to Israel's destruction, and that we should not deal with them until they recognize Israel, renounce violence, and abide by past agreements," said Brooke Anderson, chief national security spokesperson for the Obama transition team.

"The President elect's repeated statements are accurate," added Anderson. "This unsourced story is not."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054008.html

Maybe her name is Cindy Crowley? She's sort of reasonable and not a right wingnut?

He's wise to stay out of the Israel/Palestine problem until sworn in, but it needs to be at or near the top of the list for things to do once he is.

we'd be hearing from him 'very shortly,' or 'immediately' after 20th, or swearing in.

AND this is the kind of story that will ALWAYS be denied.

I've been pretty consistent in saying that he's doing the right thing by being silent, and I'm hardly in the habit of going easy on him.

If he didn't have such a tendency to fence-sit, though, the punch line wouldn't have had any oomph...