British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday progress could be made in the Middle East with "sensible" members of Hamas. "I think there are possibilities for progress and I hope that in the coming weeks a framework to take this forward becomes a bit clearer," Blair told the British parliament.
"It's far easier to deal with the situation in Palestine if there is a national unity government ... I hope we can make progress, including even with the more sensible elements of Hamas," he said. "It's not a question of ignoring the mandate of Hamas," he explained. "How can we take the Middle East peace process forward with a government that says 'we don't even recognize the right of Israel to exist' - that's the problem."
"It's far easier to deal with the situation in Palestine if there is a national unity government ... I hope we can make progress, including even with the more sensible elements of Hamas," he said. "It's not a question of ignoring the mandate of Hamas," he explained. "How can we take the Middle East peace process forward with a government that says 'we don't even recognize the right of Israel to exist' - that's the problem."