Israeli Arab MK meets Hamas

Buddies Abu Tir and el-Sana (Photo: Dudi Vaknin)

United Arab List-Ta'al Chairman Taleb el-Sana, who is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, along with members of his faction, traveled to east Jerusalem in order to visit Sheikh Muhammad Abu-Tir and his colleagues, following what he said was an "unbalanced decision" by Israel. The decision was taken after the terror attack in Tel Aviv on Monday.

Following the meeting, el-Sana told Ynet: "We understood from Hamas representatives that there's dialogue between the factions on the matter of renewing the calm, and we felt there was more flexibility on Hamas' part regarding our call to mutual recognition of both sides and an end to the cycle of violence."

Speaking to Ynet before the visit, Knesset Member El-Sana said that despite the fact that the Knesset Members will meet with leaders of a movement that does not recognize Israel's existence, the visit was not a provocation or an act of identification with the enemy.

"We are public elected officials and we want to emphasize our stance which opposes Israel's decision to revoke the citizenship of Palestinian parliament members," said MK el-Sana. "We'll give them our message and try to improve their stance in order to help get the area from the alley it got stuck in," he said.

But at a time when the world is boycotting Hamas, you, Knesset Members in Israel, choose to meet with their representatives.

"I don't think that that boycotting and ignoring (Hamas) will change the reality. Reality is changed by dialogue, and we are meeting in order to tell them that they must recognize the Arab peace initiative which speaks of a general peace with Israel, in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel from the territories We'll call on them and the (Israel) government to return to the negotiations table on the basis of the adoption of the Road Map."

You are meeting with people who don't recognize Israel.

"Their stance is not acceptable to us, like we object to a decision by Israel to revoke their citizenship and to escalate the Israeli occupation. We object to their stance which does not recognize Israel as we object to the bombing and all forms of violence. The goal is to try and help find a breakthrough that will save the area from the violent turbulence it entered recently."

You really think you'll convince them?

"We're meeting in order to influence and tell them they must accept international decisions, the Arab peace initiative, and the Road Map, and recognize the solution of an independent state alongside Israel. As I already said, we don't accept their position of not recognizing Israel."