By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Vice Premier Shimon Peres suggested Israel might accept talks with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas as long as the militant group abandoned terrorism.
Speaking Friday in Davos, where he was attending the World Economic Forum, Peres told The Associated Press that Israel would not talk to the group "if Hamas will not change the policy" - a reference to its use of violence and commitment to the destruction of Israel.
"Until now Hamas didn't change the policy," he said, adding: "they don't want to engage in talks, you can't force them."
In comments to the British Broadcasting Corporation, Peres elaborated that Israel would "have to see where they (Hamas) are going - back to the road of violence and terror, or ahead to the route of peace.