BUENOS AIRES — The radical Islamist group Hamas, hemmed in by U.S. and European pressure, is eyeing South America for economic and political backing, according to reports here.
Emissaries from the group, which recently won control of the Palestinian parliament, plan to visit Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela, according to Abu Kuhri, a Hamas spokesman.
Mr. Kuhri was quoted Thursday in the Brazilian newspaper, O Estado de Sao Paulo, as saying the head of Hamas’ parliamentary faction, Ismail Haniyeh, might head the delegation. He said the mission’s purpose was to change the view that Hamas is a terrorist group “and to demonstrate that the problem is the Israeli occupation.”
After Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian legislative elections on Jan. 25, the United States and the European Union demanded it renounce violence and recognize Israel’s right to exist in order to keep receiving more than a billion dollars in aid. Unwilling to bend to the pressure, Hamas is apparently opening its diplomatic tent to leaders such as Venezuela’s leftist leader Hugo Chavez, who is known to parlay oil dollars into political alliances against Washington.
Mr. Chavez has made no comment on Hamas’ overtures so far. Yesterday, an Argentine Foreign Ministry spokesman said officials had received no word from the Palestinian Authority, adding they would not take a position on the matter until an official request is made.
Palestinian Ambassador to Argentina Suhail Hani Daher Akel said he has not received any official information but told The Washington Times that such a mission would be “very interesting” and not unusual. He said Palestinians would continue to build their solid relations with countries throughout Latin America.
Brazil agrees with the U.S. position that Hamas should set aside violence and recognize Israel.
“Brazil is ready to cooperate with any Palestinian government which seeks, among other things, the formation and consolidation of an economically viable Palestinian state, which at the same time wants to contribute to peace and recognizes the existence of Israel,” Foreign Minister Celso Amorim was quoted by wire service reports as saying.
South America has significant communities of Arab immigrants. Brazil alone is home to more than 10 million people of Arab descent, with many concentrated at the border point between it, Paraguay and Argentina. U.S. officials say the so-called “triple border” area is a wellspring of laundered money for Middle East terrorist groups. Local Arabs deny the accusation.
Brazil in May hosted the first summit of Arabs and South American leaders, where presidents from Venezuela to Iraq pledged to fight poverty and expand economic ties.
The summit declaration also called on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories and criticized U.S. sanctions on Syria, saying they violated international law.
Mr. Akel noted that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas attended the summit and visited Chile, which “has an important community of Palestinians.”
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