US special envoy Jason Greenblatt in the West Bank city of Jericho last year (AFP)
The Trump administration's Middle East envoy has asked several Arab states to condemn Hamas in a resolution to be put to a vote at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, according to Haaretz.
Jason Greenblatt sent a letter to diplomats in Morocco, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar, according to the Israeli newspaper.
In the letter, Greenblatt reportedly urged the diplomats not to join the Palestinian Authority's efforts to block the resolution, highlighting that the UN has never condemned Hamas by name.
The timing, he reportedly said, was particularly relevant given the recent escalation in tensions between Israel and Hamas after the group and others in Gaza fired rockets following a botched Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip.
Also in the letter, he described the PA's opposition to the resolution as hypocritical because of the PA's rivalry with the group, something he also tweeted about earlier this week:
Beyond absurd- the Palestinian Authority, which hates Hamas, has cut payments to Gaza for months which increases the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, now tries to defend Hamas & terrorism by undermining a condemnation of Hamas at the UN. Its time to speak the truth. https://t.co/YDmPSRMgyD
— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) December 3, 2018
A US administration official told Haaretz that countries which oppose terrorism and want regional stability "have no reason" to block the resolution.
More to follow
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