Clinton Demands Hamas End Attacks on Israel as Mitchell Returns

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Hamas must end attacks on Israel and meet conditions that "have not and will not change" on recognizing Israel's right to exist and accepting current peace agreements.

"There were rockets yesterday, there were rockets this morning," Clinton told reporters at the State Department in Washington, referring to firings by Gaza Strip militants on Israeli communities. "It is very difficult to ask any nation to do anything other than defend itself in the wake of that kind of consistent attack."

Clinton spoke today alongside her new Middle East envoy, former Senator George Mitchell, who just came from an initial round of discussions with leaders in the region. Clinton said Mitchell would return this month.

Mideast leaders are eager to have Clinton herself visit them as soon as her schedule allows, Mitchell said.

Clinton said she and Mitchell discussed how to better mobilize aid to Palestinians in Gaza after the fighting between Hamas and Israel that ended this month. More than 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

The envoy, who was instrumental in Northern Ireland peace efforts, said his initial trip had convinced him that "patient, determined and persevering diplomacy" can make a difference in easing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the Saudi peace plan that calls for Israel to return to 1967 borders, in exchange for full normalization of relations with the Arab states, could serve as the basis for negotiations. Barak spoke at a conference in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

On Jan. 22, two days after his inauguration, President Barack Obama called on Arab states in the region to act on the "promise" of a peace initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002, saying it "contains constructive elements that could help advance these efforts."