Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, aid that in order to help peace talks proceed between Israelis and Palestinians, the Hamas' presence might be required.
"In any place where there's serious conflict, there's a point where you need to talk to everyone, but it has got to be the point where you can make some progress," Welby said Monday, The Guardian reports.
During a tour of the Holy Land, Welby visited Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip, but did not meet with Hamas officials because of British government policy, The Guardian noted.
Talks with both Israelis and Palestinians must remain a possibility, the archbishop said.
"There's a moment, which I'm not saying is now, when it is possible for it to bring rewards. But the moment is not any moment — you can do it at exactly the wrong time and cause a complete meltdown and undermine all the resistance to extremism," he told The Guardian.
However, it is possible that allowing Hamas into the talks could backfire, according to Welby. "You end up privileging those who cause the most difficulty, you reward bad behavior by attention," he said.
"There are things that governments could do, but they're not practically doable in the sense that people have the courage or the confidence."
He praised the possibility of peace in the region, saying, "there have been new moments of hope. So that's our prayer."
The archbishop prayed for peace in Jerusalem on May 3.
U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis joined Welby in the prayer, noting the historic nature of the two visiting Jerusalem together.
"I would so love to send a message of hope back through the annals of history," Mirvis said, according to The Times of Israel.
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