Defying Israeli objections, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams met with a Hamas legislator in the West Bank on Wednesday and advised Israel and the Palestinians to solve their problems using the Northern Ireland formula — negotiations. Adams, whose Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party is the major representative of Northern Ireland's Catholic minority, said ahead of his trip he wants to inspire parties in other conflicts following the agreement to end decades of fighting in his land.Israeli officials boycotted Adams because of his intention to meet Hamas members. Hamas, which controls the Palestinian parliament, is sworn to Israel's destruction and has rebuffed international demands to recognize Israel and renounce violence. Visiting Ramallah, the Palestinians' West Bank administrative capital, Adams met with several Palestinian lawmakers including Ayman Daraghmeh of Hamas. He spoke by telephone to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the moderate Fatah Party, who is traveling in the Gulf.
At a news conference, Adams urged Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a two-state solution to their conflict and said Israel must talk to the Palestinian leadership. "I think it is right that the occupation of the Palestinian territories should end and I think it's right that there should be dialogue and an end to the conflict," he said. Israel must "understand that the strategic interest of Israel and the prosperity and the security and freedom of Israel is interlocked into them upholding the rights and the freedom and the security of the Palestinian people," he said.