Meshal urges West: Stop trying to eliminate Hamas, deal with us

Damascus-based Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal urged the West on Wednesday to lift its boycott of the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.

"I tell European nations...three years of trying to eliminate Hamas is enough. It is time for you to deal with Hamas, which has gained legitimacy through struggle," Meshal said in a televised speech from the Syrian capital.

The Hamas leader also urged newly inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders to glean the "required lessons" from their countries' support for the "Israeli aggression."

Under international pressure, Israel and Hamas declared separate ceasefires in the Gaza Strip after a 22-day Israeli offensive devastated the small, densely-populated Palestinian territory and killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians.

Thirteen Israelis were killed - 10 soldiers and three civilians killed by Palestinian rocket fire.

"This battle has proved that force alone will not provide security for the Zionist entity (Israel) and that peace will not be at the expense of Palestinian rights," Meshal said.

Meshal claimed "unequivocal victory" over Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, saying it would pave the way for the "liberation of Jerusalem" and other Palestinian territories.

"This is the first real war which the Palestinian people wage and win over the Palestinian soil," Meshal said.

"The Gaza battle represents a turning point in the conflict with the enemy because it sets the stage for a serious and effective liberation strategy. The liberation of Palestine is no longer a dream, but it has become a reality, thanks to the steadfastness of the resistance in Gaza," he said.

Meshal went on to say that the Gaza offensive was a "total defeat for Israel" because it failed to achieve its goal including the ouster of Hamas from Gaza.

"Instead, Hamas emerged stronger with enhanced Arab, Islamic and world backing," he said. "The only success scored by Israel was the killing of more than 1300 and injury of about 6,000 people, half of them children and women."

He urged donors for the Gaza reconstruction to oversee the spending of their money and not to give their funds to "the corrupted", a reference to the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Meshal said that any reconciliation with Abbas' Fatah group should be preceded by the release of Hamas militants held by the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and "stopping security coordination with Israel" by the Palestinian government.