Hamas leader refuses to sign pledge against attacks

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said today that fugitives within his Palestinian group would not sign pledges to halt attacks as that would negate the legitimacy of their right to fight the Israeli occupation.

Mashaal, in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials ahead of a historic Israeli-Palestinian summit next week, also denied any links to the al Qaida terror network or Iraqi insurgents groups, saying Hamas is “a nationalist liberation movement” limiting its operations against the Israeli occupation.