Hamas chief: We will coordinate all decisions regarding Israel with Fatah
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Hamas leader defends his organization's right to wage an armed struggle against Israel.
By Haaretz Service Tags: Israel news Khaled Meshal Hamas Fatah Palestinian Authority Middle East peaceHamas leader Khaled Meshal said Saturday that his movement will make all decisions regarding the struggle against Israel, including if and when to use violence, in coordination with the West Bank leading faction Fatah, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Speaking from Cairo, just days after the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement was signed, Meshal said that the best way to achieve their goals was through agreement with the Palestinian Authority lead by President Mahmoud Abbas.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashal at a ceremony in Cairo, May 4, 2011. |
| Photo by: AP |
Meshal stressed in the interview that "negotiations with Israel, domestic governance, foreign affairs, domestic security and resistance and other field activities" against Israel, would be reached in consensus with the Fatah.
Meshal also defended the Hamas' right to wage an armed struggle against Israel, which includes firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
The rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas agreed Wednesday to reconcile and form an interim government ahead of elections in September, after a four-year feud, in what both sides hailed as a chance to start a fresh page in their national history.
Israel said the accord, which was brokered in secrecy by Egypt, would not secure peace in the Middle East and urged Abbas to carry on shunning the Islamist movement, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 after ousting Fatah in a civil war.
Western powers have always refused to deal with Hamas because of its refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
Hamas won the last Palestinian legislative elections held in 2006 and a new ballot is months overdue. Israel is worried such a vote could hand Hamas control of the West Bank, which is run by Abbas and his more secular supporters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted the reconciliation, declaring in a televised statement: "The Palestinian Authority must choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas. There is no possibility for peace with both," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
The White House said Hamas was "a terrorist organization" and added that any Palestinian government would have to renounce violence. A U.S. official said it would also have to respect past peace deals and recognize Israel's right to exist.
Both Hamas and Fatah dismissed Netanyahu's ultimatum.
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We have heard this all before.
hamas and fatah are terroist would not trust them
It is not the IDF who runs or dominates west bank, It behooves Abbas to behave with decorum not joining withthe terrorist Hamas that made the whole thing stupidly impossible from his SILLY stance.. I fear that Israel being a sovereign country does not have to do anything or accept their demands that never stop.Anyway,Abbas has chosen the wrong approach in allying with Hamas..No doubt it was not the right thing to do..That he will regret it in the end is a given..We'll seewon't we BEN ha
Sure I shot this guy and his two little kids but then I said I would no longer use violence to get what I wanted, and you know what they did? They arrested me for Murder. Sheesh! Can you believe it?
Not surprising that a Netanyahu gov't would choose shunning over engagement. Once you start on that non-productive route, you are locked into a mindset that guarantees stalemate, or worse. Perhaps by this example, the Palestinians will show Israelis that pro-active solutions are better than a 'lock down' mentality. Israel's looming international isolation is proof positive of the bankruptcy of shunning.
Some people here are so crazy , for example they said we must drop bombs on Iran, Syria etc. others said we must attack them , other said we must start war with all of Arabs. My questions, what is the percentage of those crazy people in Israel? Do they think it’s a kind of video game? It is easy to go to war but hard to get out of it. I can't see peace sounds, how can we stop those crazy people if we do not hearing sounds of peace, everybody must pray for peace, also I want to tell those people who like wars and conflicts so much, do you think you will stay at home watching TV and be safe. Are u crazy? Stop encouraging war. War is bad thing. Enough is enough!
these include renouncing use of violence and negative incitement against one another; recognizing the two states side by side based on the 1967 cease-fire lines; a compromise being reached on the refugees issue (thus settling the characterization of the Jewish state of Israel) because otherwise the demographics would dictate a scenario of two Palestinian states in the future. However, there are predominantly two different ethnicities which reside in the region, one Jewish (based on over five thousand years of history) and one Muslim (based on centuries of history), and each desires their own sovereign independent democratic state.
Now israel has a partner to reach peace deal. No more excuses. Enough is enough!
Try to read the whole article, it helps sometimes
... in Arabic it is: " yaeni, we are going for the destruction of Israel and killing jews even when they hide behind many a trees" - one should ask do you really teach "unseen" text up there in the big "K" Tony, before you think you have enough to say anything about the world down and under?
The women of Hamas and Fatah don't appear to have a face let alone representation.
Not allowed..sorry...They are obliged to let ONLY the MEN to take part...Their way is: Women wearing their BURQAs..bare footed and PREGNANT is their way..Didn't you know that???
The news is great for the Palestinians, and will remove an obstacle for some UN members who see the separate regimes in Gaza and West Bank as a problem for supporting an independent Palestinian state. But the news is also good for Israel: It has a partner for peace. One deal applies to all of Palestine. Hamas already said in the past that they will accept a peace deal with Israel if the Palestinians vote for it, and that is good. Israelis should also have a referendum so that peace, and its expected consequences, is viewed as legitimate by all. Netanyahu of course will seize this unity as a new excuse for not negotiating with Abbas, but he wouldn't negotiate with or without hamas, so it makes no difference. In the recent past, when Hamas won the PA 2006 elections and formed a national unity government, foreign countries dealt with Abbas and with cabinet ministers not associated with Hamas. The Olmert government (of Likud vintage) refused to deal even with Abbas himself: If a piece of the PA government is non-kosher, it is all treif (non-kosher). Netanyahoo is expected to behave similarly, but again, his game remains the same anyhow, only the excuses change. As far as Hamas' position about the interim cabinet not negotiating with Israel until the new elections, this does NOT apply to President Abbas, nor does it apply to the PLO, under which peace negotiations have been conducted. Abbas WANTS to negotiate, but Netanyahu does not, and now he will have a formal "treif" excuse.
Which will irritate Hamas/Lieberman... What it interesting is what will happen when the UN gets put on the back burner due to negotiations and there are elections in October... I doubt that Hamas will win support if there are negotiations... The big question is what Hamas/Lieberman will attempt to do to sabotage talks so they can get back to business as usual...
As a right wing Canadian Jew I don’t see this as a problem, as The West banks security is under controll of the IDF incontrast to Gaza which is not... The world is convinced that the pals are ready for peace and their own country... if they elect Hamas this will prove to the world that they are still naive in their approach to peace... The only thing left is for Bibi to announce the IPI which should take significant pressure off of Israel, and force the pals to capitulate on some of their key demands...
or insist to be a jewish state.
remember tony that denmark is BY LAW a christian state with an OFFICIAL state religion.
If you have ever been to Israel you would know that its a pretty secular place... I remember gettting bacon breakfast on Saturday moring the last time i was there... When we say Israel is the Jewish state... We mean its the nation state for the Jewish People not its religion...
Since ALL actions by Hamas will now be coordinated with Abbas, all will be prepared to accept equal culpability and responsibility. So when Hamas fires a rocket at a clearly marked school bus killing a child, we can go after Abbas and Fatah since they will have approved. Thank you Haaretz for carifying
Hamas has no rights. No one gives any country or entity the right to wage war on another country. And no country is required to sit down and discuss peace with a country that is waging war on it. .However, if Hamas-Fatah want to have peace discussions with Israel, the first thing it should do is formally recognize Israel as a nation. the second thing it should do to demonstrate good will is to stop firing rockets into Israel and blowing up buses etc, and the third thing it should do is release the IDF soldier it kidnapped. Then Israel should think about which of the captured Palestinian terrorists it wants to release and release them. If all those are done then there is some incentive to begin discussions about borders, status of settlers and releasing tax collections. Unless all that is done there is no basis for discussions and no rights conferred. What is it with you people who think nations have unilteral rights to kill people. Even the US is criticised for killing bin Laden.
It seems that Israel has forgotten that they have helped to create Hamas. Further the world has not forgotten that Israel has imprisoned the democratically elected members Hamas of the palestinian parliament . These are facts which the world is well aware and that all arguements of the Israeli government against the unified Fatah-Hamas are null and void .
When Hamas changes its charter that calls for Israel's destruction and all-out Jihad against Israel, maybe then the world will start to believe that they can be trusted.
The problem is israel Mashal said he's ready to peace with Israel a bother chance which means they took an initiative to change What else does Israel want ??
Likud Charter calls for a one-state Israeli solution with no Palestine. Hamas Charter calls for a one-state Palestine solution with no Israel. Why is the Hamas Charter any worse than the Likud Charter?
And same time Likud will change its charter, where it deny any change to palestinian state. Fair deal.
The Likud's Constitution, Article 1b, declares that the Likud movement is dedicated to "upholding the right of the Jewish People to Eretz Yisrael as an unquestionable right"ב. שמירת זכותו של העם היהודי על ארץ) ישראל, כזכות נצחית שאינ ניתנת לערעור) The term Eretz Yisrael includes also the Jordan Valley (at least) on the East side of the Jordan river. Likud managed not to introduce a change in its Charter even after a peace with Jordan was signed, because Labor was the ruling party at the time. But shouldn't it do so now? Incidentally, Charter changes are expected only AFTER some agreement is signed. This is what Arafat did, changing the PLO Charter only after Oslo was signed.
Because Likud does not arbitrarily rocket innocent civilians or school buses. Nor does it call for the total destruction of another country or state.
Taqiyya - or deception in Allah's name - is perfectly acceptable in Islam to present the friendly, peace-loving face of Islam to possible converts and non-believers. Not a single word that Hamas says is believable. It is akin to Iran's leaders swearing blind that they have no clandestine nuclear program or Pakistan claiming that bin Laden was never in their country.
They should emulate the Jerws/Israel standing shouder to shoulder..Unfortunately the future is DIRE at the rate they are behaving ..I have no such hope in their joined forces..Fatah ios supposed to be the moderate one...I believe it when I see a trial to the one they killed without a TRIAL ..instead they used the terror tactic..emulating Hamas..I pity them....
Hamas to govern in consensus with Fatah. Okay boys and girls... all together now, start holding hands and sing Kumbaya. And when was the last time we’ve seen a Palestinian consensus. Never mind about religious fanatics or the Bozos of Islamic Jihad. I give them two weeks... or the next time pigs fly.
...it has a religious imperative to secure the land/Jerusalem. If Hamas gives up this imperative, they will have evolved into something that is not considered fully Islamist. It's highly unlikely that they would ever give in on this principle without cover from the wider Muslim world, which is not likely to follow anytime soon. There will always be extremists in any society. The best strategy is to try to marginalize them and help make them unpopular in their own society. If the basic ideology maintains a base of support in the society, a similar organization will eventually spring up, even if the extremist organization (Hamas) is structurally dissolved.
Israel must get out of all occupied palestinian land if they want peace!
I though he wanted to make the south safe from rocket attacks
He knows their true nature.
"When I say we have the right to fire rockets at Israeli innocent Women and children, I really mean we want Peace"
..... as is the custom between states .... Syria understood that. Hezbollah too after their last adventure. Hamas is not special ... Furthermore, should Hamas win the election, Israel will most likely NOT ALLOW HAMAS IN THE WEST BANK ! The lesson from Gaza's rockets will not be forgotten for at least, 50 years!
"Israel will have to accept the Palestinian state". But should Hamas win the election, Israel will "not allow Hamas in the West Bank"??? Does IDF or settler violence also mean immediate war from now on? Because there is IDF and settler violence each and every day.
No way! Israel will have to accept the Palestinian state comprising Ftah and Hamas but only through the requirments of the Quartet (that they have discarded seems like) And the main thing is NO VIOLENCE ..Gee S you do expect too much...Not that I disagree with you,but this whole thing is bnarely a couple of weeks old.And here they are speaking form both sides..One in Damascus,the other the terror entity Hamas (who according to some here stopped firing rockets) that they did is true BUT only barely a week..Dos that count fo rmuch? I think not. Let us see not one week,not 2,not 3,not 4, but foe at least 6 months and Israel can ake it from there. Failing all that I am of the opinion it will end in disaster and WAR ..Indeed the lesson from Gaza's rockets will not be forgotten for a jolly long time. Please do not take notice of the one who called yuiou oximoronic...You most cetainly are NOT
.... and even then, it may turn around so that nothing remains ....
By recognizing that the path to peace is through a two-state solution - which has been articulated by Bibi - it has recognized the rights of the Palestinians to have a state of their own for the first time. The question is to negotiate the agreement based on US resolution 242 which you people should read a bit more carefully.
What a parade of stupid this is. They just fired a laser guided missile at a school bus. So very, very stupid...
The palestinians suffer badly from the wicked ways and intransigence of their leaders. Shame. Hamas is currently the biggest obstacle to peace, and the unity-show in Cairo was a great gift to Netanyahu.
The current obstacle to peace is Bibi and his henchmen !!
Could Israel perceive what is going on ? Simply people change and I believe it is a crucial moment for Israel to rerspond positively to the new "era" the middle east is witnessing.No body can fool no body now , Politicians in Israel must see the full half of the glass in order to go ahead with peace process .
Hey Bibi, keep the ball in their court. If they shoot a missile, then we have every right to hit back hard but until then, please just shut up and give them their tax revenues.
The best way is to get people out of the cycle of poverty that they have been forced into by the occupation for several generations. Concentrate on the social foundations that will improve the standard of living; invest in the young so that they can begin to develop their talents instead of wasting them in mere survival and anger.
Totally Agree, I guess Palestine also needs to denounce violence and recognise Israel
If Israel did what the majority of nations would like Israel to do,there would not be an Israel.
END OF LESSON TO BE LEARNED .
its a occupation.
israel doesnt want peace, they want land.
Lima--You seem to have "forgotten" that Hamas used a laser-guided anti-tank weapon just a month ago, on April 7, to attack an Israeli school bus that was driving in pre-1967 Israel. This Hamas attack on a civilian target was a war crime.
Only barely a week..Doesn't count because of the NEW plan by Abbas to ally himself with Hamas..ONE SWALLOW MAKES NOT A SUMMER Harry..Let us see no more rockets for at least 6 months............ Then we can begin to rejoice..You are being far too optimistic..Wait awhile//
Sure they have held the ceasefire, just like when you look in the mirror you see Clint Eastwood.
Palestine state in 2012!
Does it mean that PA has a say in the decision to release Schalit? Or to lobe a missile into Ashkelon or a schoolbus? Does it mean that PA could be taken accountable for any breach?
Yes, let Israel negotiate a prisoner exchange with Fatah. Would be good to get Palestine's boys home!
That's exactly what Mershal is saying. But the important point is this: Netanyahu would blame Fatah in any case i.e. there is nothing new in this announcement for the naysayer. What's new is that Mershal is AGREEING that Hamas and Fatah are in the same boat, and the only reason for him to say that is because he is trying to point out to everyone that Hamas have agreed not to rock the boat.
Don't get me wrong. I wish for a peace agreement but I know an example of a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and this is it.. You want to know the quickest way to a peace accord...I'll tell you it involves Gilad Shalit. If Hamas would release Shalit just like that ...peace would be in place within a year. That move would put the bin laden assasination in the dust bin. But Hamas is Hamas and you will all see shortly Hamas will not do anything positive towards peace.
what's about hamas recognition of israel?
Why? Please explain your remark.
The headline in 1947 should have read exactly as your posting with a change of one word only. "PALESTINE REFUSAL TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO WORLD PEACE" Because that is exactly what has brought us here now. In 1947 it was PALESTINE that did not recognize Israel.
Go Hamas/Fatah!
Should it be mutual recognition, let's say, palestinians shall recognize Israe tool? It will never happen, but for the sake of conversation..
The PLO has recognized the state of Israel years and years ago. When will Israel recognize the state of Palestine?
and that is when Israel started negotiating with them. If hamas was serious about piece, they would remove those words from their charter too. Then peace will have a chance.
Know your history before you make a fool of yourself. In 1947 Israel wholly recognized the State of Palestine. Palestine did not and the following week she and her 5 Arab bretheran countries attacked Israel.
Thoma,s Israel recognized the State of Palestine in 1947 under the Partition plan. Unfortunately the Arabs refused and went to war and lost. How come the "Palestinians" never wanted a state between 1948 and 1967 when they were under the not too benevolent rule of Egypt and Jordan.
He is handing over to Fatah the right to veto any action Hamas might be contemplating. Mershal *knows* that Fatah will say "no" to any plan for armed resistance, so he is actually signalling that Hamas is giving up the armed struggle, whichout having to humiliate himself by saying so openly.
If HAMAS sends rockets into Israel they will claim it was done in consensus of FATAH. Fatah will say that was not the case, and the circle starts again, git shabbes
As you assume(correctly so too) If Hamas send rockets into Israel they will claim it was done with consensus of FATAH..In short when things do not satisfy their agenda ..Easy ,pizzy ..blame it to the other side.. And the music plays on with them lot.
Just reread the first paragraph." Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said Saturday that his movement will make all decisions regarding the struggle against Israel, including if and when to use violence, in coordination with the West Bank leading faction Fatah" Then go read the 3rd paragraph. This is not concilliation...this is aquiesence on the part of Abbas
Meshaal the arch terrorist will say anything it pleases himself All from afar in Damascus and never setting foot in the ME since the last episode when he nearly DIED.All's well with the world with JB But the consequences translates differently I fear. You are thinking as tough Hamas cares one way or another whether it humiliates himself or not.. It DOES NOT..Openly or otherwise.. believe me me you are giving too much credence what he is thinking
A negotiated peace without Hamas at the table would never work. Hamas is making clear that whilst reserving that option, armed struggle is not the only game in town; a not dissimilar situation to the ANC position in SA at the beginning of the end of apartheid in that country. Israel should now respond in a simkilar spirit by helping create the conditions for peaceful negotiations, e.g. stopping settlement building on occupied territory for a start. The world is waiting, Israel...
I agree completly with you Guy, no solution for us without stpping the settlement building, and no solution without pushing and pushing more for peace !
let hamas renounce violence first, then Israel will help establish a state for them.
As for the world's bodies who cares..Israel has been fighting for its survival even when the US had not helped until only recently. The rest of your post bears witness to that. Good post thanks
Michel we stopped the settlement bulding for 10 months and what did we get. More rockets, more demands and threats and he usual Palestinian whine. "Its not fair" we should be allowed to wipe you out. How dare Israel defend itself.