Zahar: Referendum on Israel is a waste of money

Hamas will not recognize Israel's right to exist or revive long-stalled peace talks, the Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar said Monday, adding that a referendum on recognizing the Jewish state would be a waste of money. "Israel will give us no chance to establish an independent state," Zahar said during a visit to Malaysia. "Nobody can trust Israel, nobody can trust America. America is strangling our people." Asked about reviving Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Zahar said: "There is no peace process. ... We spent many years negotiating for nothing."