Haniyeh silent on Israel peace deals

Hamas’ prime minister-in-waiting kept the Middle East in suspense by refusing to give an assurance that he would honour interim peace deals with Israel.

Accepting a letter designating him as prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of the militant Islamic group met Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas yesterday for more than two hours – their second such session in two days and an indication of the wide gaps between the two.