Hamas says asked by US to keep silent on talks

Islamist group source says senior American officials request contacts remain sec
ret 'so as not to rouse Jewish lobby'
Roee Nahmias

A senior Hamas figure said Friday that official and unofficial US sources have a
sked the Islamist group to refrain from making any statements regarding contacts
with Washington, this following reportâ s that a senior American official is due t
o arrive in an Arab country in the coming days to relay a telegram from the Obam
a Administration.
The Hamas figure told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the Ameri
cans fear discussing the talks publicly would "rouse the Jewish lobby and other
pressure groups in the US and cause them to pressure the administration to suspe
nd all talks with Hamas."
The Hamas figure, who is close to Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the gove
rnment in Gaza, added, "This is a sensitive subject. The Americans don't want an
yone to comment on it because this would catch the attention of pressure groups
(in the US) and cause problems."
He said Hamas' exiled leadership in Damascus is overseeing the contacts behind c
losed doors.
On Wednesday a Washington-based Arabic newspaper quoted a senior official as say
ing that an American envoy is scheduled to meet with Hamas representatives in an
Arab country and hand them a letter from the Obama Administration.
According to the report, the official said Washington has no choice but to work
with Hamas due to its influence in the Arab and Islamic world.