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Israelis and Hamas have secret talks in Switzerland

August 20, 2009 15:22

ByKeren David, Keren David

2 min read

A secret “peace conference” held in Switzerland earlier this month brought together senior establishment figures from Hamas, Fatah and Israel to discuss a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

The meeting was organised by London-based group the Next Century Foundation, which describes itself as a “second track” diplomatic foundation working towards conflict resolution. Its first objective is to provide a forum for Israelis and Palestinians.

“It was the first time I’d seen Hamas talk directly to Israelis,” said William Morris, NCF’s secretary-general, “and the first time they had discussed a two-state solution.

“A lot of Israelis might say ‘so what’, but I think you need to take a longer vision and recognise that this is the way that the Palestinian public is moving in areas like Gaza, even though they have every reason to be radicalised.”