Chirac backs Hamas on sanctions

aljazeera.net: The French president has endorsed Hamas's view that sanctions against the Palestinian Authority will serve only to hurt ordinary people.

Speaking on Monday in Saudi Arabia, Jacques Chirac said he was against any international sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is now lead by the resistance group Hamas.

"I know well that there are some who envisage sanctions," he said

"For my part, I am hostile to sanctions in general and in this case in particular ... basically the Palestinian people would bear the brunt of it." Read more

Hamas shrugs off al-Qaida support

Hamas officials shrugged off the support offered by al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, saying Sunday the Palestinian militant group has a different ideology than the terror network and won election through a moderate approach to Islam.

In a video aired Saturday by Al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahri called for jihad, or holy war, to reclaim Palestinian lands and implied al-Qaida's support for Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel despite international pressure since the militant Islamic group swept parliamentary elections in January.

A Hamas official in Gaza said: "Hamas believes that Islam is completely different to the ideology of Mr. al-Zawahri." Link