PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr urged Europe on Monday to end its year-old ban on direct aid to his government and said the Islamist Hamas movement had moderated its stance against Israel over the past 12 months. In an interview published in Le Monde newspaper, Abu Amr said the newly-formed Palestinian unity government recognised Israel and deserved European support. "From our point of view we have met almost all the conditions of the international community," said Abu Amr, who is in France on his first visit to the West since the Palestinian cabinet took office last month. The Middle East Quartet, comprising the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, suspended direct aid last year when Hamas won elections and took power alone. The quartet said the ban would remain in place until the government forswore violence, recognised Israel and accepted past peace accords. Abu Amr said that while Hamas still did not recognise Israel, the government, which includes Hamas ministers, did. "This government's programme, which I helped draw up, is not the programme of just one faction. It reflects national consensus," said Abu Amr, who is independent of Hamas. The foreign minister said Hamas had shifted position considerably in recent months, including the acceptance of the idea of a Palestinian state within the old 1967 borders. France is the only major European Union country to suggest that the ban on direct aid be lifted. EU foreign ministers meeting in Germany at the weekend appeared more cautious. They agreed to engage the government's non-Hamas members but warned against expecting a quick resumption of direct aid. Abu Amr said he hoped the EU would relent. "What we need today is encouragement, reciprocity, a constructive approach. Europe should be more logical than the United States and Israel," he was quoted as saying. Israel is seeking to maintain the international embargo on the new Palestinian government. U.S. officials have indicated they will meet some non-Hamas ministers but said the ban on direct aid should remain in place. Abu Amr will meet French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste Blazy and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin this week.
