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CAIRO — The top leader of the militant Hamas group said Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s pressure on Israel to freeze construction in West Bank settlements was an essential step toward restarting peace efforts.
The militant group — which is eager to win international acceptance of its rule in Gaza though it is shunned by the U.S. and others as a terrorist organization — has tried to sound more pragmatic since Israel’s punishing three-week offensive early this year.
Leader Khaled Mashaal’s endorsement of Obama’s push also included an appeal for the international community to consider Hamas a “positive element” in the search for Middle East peace.
