Good for Peter MacKay, I think...

Shouldn't it just be impossible, and not 'next to impossible'?

Canada will not help fund a new Hamas-led Palestinian government unless the militant group rejects violence and agrees to recognize Israel, Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said on Monday.

He also said Canada was reviewing the C$25 million ($22 million) it gives each year to the Palestinian Authority to fund aid projects.

MacKay was sworn in two weeks ago as part of the new right-of-center Conservative government, which defenders of the Jewish state hope will come down more on Israel's side than the previous Liberal administration.

MacKay told Reuters that Canada wanted Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence against Israel and agree to stick to the terms of previous peace deals between the two sides.

"These are inalienable positions we cannot move away from. Without it (agreement by Hamas), it's going to be next to impossible to move toward giving assistance to the new Palestinian government," he said in a telephone interview.

"We're calling for a clear signal (from Hamas) ... The establishment of democratic institutions is incompatible with continuous advocacy for terrorist violence," he said.

Isn't Hamas already sending out a clear signal???