By: Maayana Miskin
– Arutz Sheva

Hamas chief in Syria, Khaled Mashaal complained Thursday that the United States is discriminating against Hamas in comparison to Iran and Syria. In an interview with the London-based Ash-sharq il-Awsat, Mashaal said U.S. President Obama is making demands of Hamas, while speaking to leaders of Middle East countries with no preconditions.

Obama “is beginning dialogue with the Iranians and the Syrians without preconditions, so why is he setting preconditions for Hamas?” Mashaal asked.

Mashaal expressed hope that the Obama administration would soon drop the preconditions set for Hamas as well. Obama’s “new language” when speaking about Hamas indicates that he may become willing to relax his conditions, he said.

As an example, Mashaal said Obama did not use the word “terrorism” when referring to Arab attacks on Israel in a recent speech.

The Obama administration, like previous U.S. administrations, has called on Hamas to recognize Israel, end terrorist attacks, and agree to abide by previous agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. will only hold direct talks with Hamas if those three conditions are met, American diplomats say.

On Tuesday, Mashaal urged the U.S. and Europe to make Hamas a partner in Israel-PA talks. Hamas “will not be an obstacle,” he said. However, Mashaal refused to meet any of the U.S. conditions for talks, and said international law supports Hamas attacks on Israel.

One day earlier, Gaza terrorists carried out an attempted attack on Israeli troops near the Karni crossing. The terrorists were trained and armed by Hamas.