Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal plans to deliver a special diplomatic speech next week in response to United States President Barack Obama's historic reconciliation speech to the Muslim world last week, according to a report Tuesday in the London-based Arabic-language al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper. The Mashaal address is scheduled immediately after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to Obama.
Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk urged the American president on Monday to talk directly with his organization, saying Obama's drive for Mideast peace is impossible without them. Marzouk, also told the Associated Press that the group would not renounce violence.