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Obama administration takes the heat for alleged Hamas channel

The Obama administration is denying a BuzzFeed report of a back channel to Hamas while also resisting pressure from Congress to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority after the unity agreement.
U.S. President Barack Obama listens to remarks during his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House in Washington March 17,  2014. President Barack Obama on Monday urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make tough decisions and take risks for peace with Israel, saying he hoped to see progress in U.S.-brokered negotiations in coming weeks.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque  (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HG4C

The news website BuzzFeed reports that the United States held secret talks with Hamas for the past six months to discuss maintenance of the Palestinian movement’s cease-fire with Israel and the formation of the recently announced Palestinian government. 

"Our administration needed to hear from them that this unity government would move toward democratic elections, and toward a more peaceful resolution with the entire region,” noted the report, quoting a US official. "It was important to have that line of communication."​

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