Hamas seeks truce but says lifting siege a must

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Hamas is open to international initiatives for a truce in Gaza but insists any proposal must guarantee Israeli withdrawal and an end to the blockade on the besieged territory, an exiled Hamas leader said on Monday.

Moussa Abu Marzouk vowed that the Palestinian Islamic group would keep fighting an uneven war with Israel rather than return to the blockade, one of the grievances cited by Hamas when it chose not to renew a truce with Israel last month.

"Any initiative not based on ending the aggression, opening the border crossings and an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has no chance of succeeding," Abu Marzouk told Reuters in an interview in Damascus.

"The defeat of the enemy and its failure to achieve its objectives must be reflected in the situation to come. I agree that the rules of the game must change, but in Hamas's favour," said Abu Marzouk, who lives in Syria along with other members of the group's exiled leadership.

Syria has been at the centre of efforts to solve the crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to visit Damascus on Tuesday as part of a Middle East tour to push for a truce.

Saeed Jalili, a senior Iranian security official, was in Damascus last week and two high level Hamas members in exile in Syria were due to travel to Cairo to discuss an Egyptian proposal to stop the war.

Israel has resisted international calls for a cease-fire, saying that its war objectives have not been achieved. The Jewish state launched the offensive on Dec 27 with the declared aim of quelling rocket fire from Gaza.

OPEN LINES