Former Finnish President, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari is calling on Western countries to stop boycotting the Palestinian Hamas organisation.
In an interview with Reuters News Agency, Ahtisaari says that Hamas needs to be included at the negotiating table so that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians can be brought to an end.
He emphasised that excluding Hamas from the talks is dangerous and pointless.
Ahtisaari feels that Hamas cannot be excluded from the negotiations, because it has power. “You have to talk to those who are representative, whether you like their views or not”, Ahtisaari said.
The United States classifies Hamas as a terrorist organisation, and has sought to isolate the organisation ever since it won the Palestinian Parliamentary elections in 2006.
He said that the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, must “get their act together and form a united front”
