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Defiant Hamas Leader Calls For End Of Gaza Siege

Defiant Hamas Leader Calls For End Of Gaza Siege
Reuters
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Khaled Meshaal , head of Hamas Politburo in Damascus, talks during a presser with Amr Moussa Secretary general of the Arab League, not pictured, following their meeting in Cairo Egypt, Sunday, Sept.6, 2009. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

DOHA, July 23 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said he was ready to accept a humanitarian truce in Gaza where the Islamist group is fighting an Israeli military offensive, but would not agree to a full ceasefire until the terms had been negotiated.

"Everyone wanted us to accept a ceasefire and then negotiate for our rights, we reject this and we reject it again today," he said at a news conference in Qatar.

But he said Hamas "will not close the door" to a humanitarian truce if Israel ended its siege of Gaza. (Reporting By Amena Bakr in Doha and Sami Aboudi in Dubai; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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