President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy said on Thursday that if Hamas wants to play a role in any Palestinian government, it must renounce violence and commit to negotiations with Israel — demands the Islamic militant group has always rejected. Jason Greenblatt's statement was the first American comment on the advancing reconciliation efforts between the rival Palestinian Fatah and Hamas factions, and echoed Israeli demands. "Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognize the state of Israel, accept previous agreements and obligations between the parties — including to disarm terrorists — and commit to peaceful negotiations. If Hamas is to play any role in a Palestinian government, it must accept these basic requirements," Greenblatt said in a statement. Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-led forces in 2007, leaving Abbas only in control of autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Past attempts at reconciliation have repeatedly failed. But after a decade-long blockade by Israel and three deadly offensives Israel against Gaza, Hamas has said it is ready to compromise. Under Egyptian auspices, the Palestinian factions last week reached a preliminary agreement and have formed committees to sort out unresolved issues. Later Thursday, Greenblatt arrived in Cairo for talks on the Palestinian reconciliation efforts, Egyptian and American officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Greenblatt has been shuttling through the region in search of a formula to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which last broke down in 2014. *This story was edited by Ahram Online
