Britain wants to have "normal relations" with Hamas and is seeking means of unfreezing millions of pounds worth of aid to Palestinians, Jack Straw said yesterday, in a striking softening of tone.Two days after a Palestinian suicide bombing killed nine people in Tel Aviv, the Foreign Secretary appeared to be moving away from America's policy of isolating the new Hamas-led Palestinian government and starving it of funds.
He also appeared to adopt a more indulgent attitude towards the Islamist movement than Tony Blair.
The Prime Minister told the Commons yesterday: "I hope very much that Hamas realise that those who kill innocent people in this way, by this type of attack that happened in Tel Aviv, are wicked and irresponsible, but more than that, that they do absolutely nothing to further the process of peace in the Middle East or the two-state solution that we all want to see."
Hamas leaders have publicly justified Monday's bombing, carried out by the Islamic Jihad group, as an act of "self-defence" against Israeli occupation.
Mr Straw, speaking in Riyadh, said Hamas had to meet three international demands - renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previous peace agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority. But he appeared to be interpreting these conditions with great leniency.
"Hamas now leads the government and we would like to have normal relations with them as we have had with previous governments," he said. "This requires movement by them as well as by us."
As Hamas struggles to fill a gaping financial hole caused by Israel's decision to cut off customs remittances, and a partial suspension of aid by the European Union and America, Mr Straw suggested he was looking for ways to ensure that all of Britain's £56 million contribution continued to reach Palestinians.
He is believed to be considering using an internationally supervised "intermediary" to ensure that aid to the Palestinian Authority does not "leach" to terrorists.
Mr Straw said "recognition" of Israel did not mean a formal declaration by Hamas, but just a practical acceptance of the "reality" of the Jewish state.
The Foreign Secretary is said to believe that re-writing the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, is not a precondition for dialogue.
Even on the issue of renouncing violence, Mr Straw appears to have set the bar quite low.
It is understood that Mr Straw could accept silence from Hamas on the question of violence, leaving it to the moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to denounce the suicide bombers.