Hamas won't recognize Israel, but will accept its right to exist

[Fade]

Hamas won't recognize Israel, but will accept its right to exist

DAMASCUS, Syria - Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says his militant Islamic group will not recognize Israel.

But Mashaal says Hamas will accept a Palestinian state on Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The statement amounted to a tacit acceptance of Israel's right to exist alongside a Palestinian state, but without explicit recognition of the Jewish state.

Earlier, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said that Hamas is prepared to accept the Jewish state's right to "live as a neighbour next door in peace."

Carter met twice with Mashaal over the weekend.

Source.... (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/04/21/5347801-ap.html)

[vinny_121_ND]

Earlier, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said that Hamas is prepared to accept the Jewish state's right to "live as a neighbour next door in peace."Seems like the type of talk when Israel left Gaza. I remember saying to myself that hopefully that would lead to peace. How wrong I was.

[Ariha]

Source.... (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/04/21/5347801-ap.html)

Mashal means that first they will take what Israel is willing to give, without recognizing the state of Israel and then will take the rest by force from a weakened (both politicaly and geostrategically) Israel. It is the Hamas version of the "Phased Plan".

The third paragraph of the source makes me wonder if the author is not mentally deranged.

[Sanat-e-naft]

If peace is really the goal, is this not worth looking into and not scoffing at? I mean, chances are great this is going to end in another pathetic failure on the part of the Palestinian leadership to lead, but isnt it better to try? What if Egypt and Israel had never made friendly? Or Jordan. I mean these opportunities shoul dnot be wasted. Plus if they are lying then Israel can still bomb them.

[seraosha]

If peace is really the goal, is this not worth looking into and not scoffing at?

Yes, absolutely.

The second Hamas actually does something that will help bring peace, there won't be any scoffing. But until then, they have earned nothing but scorn and derision.

[Mu-Meson]

Yes, absolutely.

The second Hamas actually does something that will help bring peace, there won't be any scoffing. But until then, they have earned nothing but scorn and derision.
Bombs too. They have certainly earned the right of heavy ordinance being dropped on them.

[Sanat-e-naft]

The worst thing Israel could do would be to drop ordinance (First) right now, if it happens this chance for peace will be wasted. If Hamas does not act in conformity with it's potential olive branch, then by all means, blast-em. But wouldn't it be cool if this actually worked? It would greatly improve things. But I would not hold my breath on this one.

[Mr.Flint]

The worst thing Israel could do would be to drop ordinance (First) right now, if it happens this chance for peace will be wasted. If Hamas does not act in conformity with it's potential olive branch, then by all means, blast-em. But wouldn't it be cool if this actually worked? It would greatly improve things. But I would not hold my breath on this one.
In case you missed the occurrences of the last few days, they already dont act in conformity with their "olive branch"....

[Sanat-e-naft]

Then blast-em. If it is confirmed Hamas. Sorry, what kind of attack did I miss?

[Fade]

Then blast-em. If it is confirmed Hamas. Sorry, what kind of attack did I miss?
I think they attacked the border crossing where the humanitarian food aid is delivered.

[vinny_121_ND]

In case you missed the occurrences of the last few days, they already dont act in conformity with their "olive branch"....

Yeah I agree. This was yesterday.




Palestinian bombers wound 16 in attack on Israeli-Gaza border (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.mideast20apr20,0,4172574.story)

Officials call it largest militant operation since 2005; three assailants killed in blasts



GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian militants besieged a crucial Israel-Gaza border crossing yesterday, wounding 16 Israeli soldiers in a barrage of mortar fire and car bombs.
Three Palestinian gunmen died in the attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing, which follows a string of smaller militant raids on the other entry points through which vital humanitarian supplies and fuel enter Gaza.


Hamas' military wing, the Izzidin al-Qassam Brigade, claimed responsibility for the raid. A senior Israeli army commander called it the largest militant operation since Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
"It was an attempt to abduct and kill as many soldiers as possible," Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant told reporters during a visit to Kerem Shalom.


An impoverished coastal strip of about 1.4 million, Gaza remains a pariah mini-state under the control of Hamas. The militant group won parliamentary elections in 2006 and later routed forces loyal to the rival Fatah party after a unity government collapsed last summer.
Israel, with U.S. backing and Egypt's assistance, sealed Gaza after the Hamas takeover. But limited amounts of humanitarian aid and fuel are allowed in through a series of border crossings such as Kerem Shalom.
About 6 a.m. yesterday, an Israeli army spokeswoman said, three vehicles approached the crossing: two jeeps modified to look like Israeli army vehicles and an armored personnel carrier of the type used by Palestinian security forces.
At least one of the jeeps exploded near a group of Israeli soldiers. Then, as mortar rounds begun raining down, several men emerged from the armored vehicle and opened fire, said the army spokeswoman, Maj. Avital Leibovich.
"It could have been much worse," said Leibovich, who credited the soldiers' rapid response and the protection provided by an Israeli armored vehicle with preventing greater casualties.
The Qassam Brigade offered a slightly different account of the attack.
A spokesman known as Abu Obeida said that three car bombs were detonated and a fourth car, also rigged to explode, withdrew from the battle.
Thirteen of the 16 wounded soldiers were lightly injured, and one was severely wounded, Leibovich said.
Kerem Shalom, which is administered by Israeli civilians, was closed yesterday for the weekend.
Footage broadcast on Al-Jazeera Arabic-language satellite news channel showed the three militant vehicles setting out for their mission through thick dawn fog.
A video later distributed by the Qassam Brigade showed the four attackers reading statements, but the image of a fourth man who survived the raid was blacked out, suggesting he could still at large.
Border crossings have become a frequent recent target for militant raids, signaling a possible tactical shift.
On April 9, gunmen killed two Israeli civilian workers at the Nahal Oz fuel transfer terminal, which supplies fuel to Gaza.
On Thursday, a Palestinian sniper fired on Israeli soldiers near Nahal Oz, and two gunmen were wounded trying to infiltrate Kerem Shalom.
Leibovich said that Thursday's much smaller attack at Kerem Shalom might have been a scouting mission to measure Israeli response time at the crossing.
Israeli officials accuse Hamas of cynically exploiting the deprivation of Gaza residents.
"They know when we target a crossing, we have no choice but to close it. They're looking for a way to stop the flow of supplies to civilians," Leibovich said. "They ride on the backs of the civilians all the time."
The emphasis on targeting crossing points also might be motivated by a standing desire by Gaza militant groups to kidnap Israeli soldiers as bargaining chips. In a similar raid near Kerem Shalom in June 2006, attackers captured Israeli army Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who remains captive somewhere in Gaza.
The armored vehicle used in yesterday's attack was one of the dozens supplied by the international community and used by security forces of the Fatah party. Hamas inherited the equipment when it vanquished Fatah forces last summer, but it's unclear how many working armored vehicles the group possesses.
Four other Palestinians, three of them Qassam cadres, died in Israeli airstrikes yesterday, bringing the death toll to seven, the group said.


Rushdi Abu Alouf and Ashraf Khalil write for the Los Angeles Times.


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.mideast20apr20,0,4172574.story

[Switek]

Jesus, they always learn when it's almost too late.

We can expect a partition of Hamas soon... Fvck, always the same... :roll:

[Mu-Meson]

Jesus, they always learn when it's almost too late.

We can expect a partition of Hamas soon... Fvck, always the same... :roll:

Do you suppose they will create Hamas and Fatah branches of 'refugees'?

[Calanen]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1208422645447&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Palestinians' backing for terror rises

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH (khaledat@zahav.net.il)

http://static.jpost.com/images/2007/site/2.0/fontbtn/font_plus.off.gif http://static.jpost.com/images/2007/site/2.0/fontbtn/font_plus.on.gif

The number of Palestinians who support attacks against Israelis continues to rise and more than half of them favor suicide bombings, according to a poll published this weekend.

The survey also showed that Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is still more popular than Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The percentage of Palestinians who support "resistance operations" against Israeli targets rose from 43.1 percent in September 2006 to 49.5% at present. Support for this option was highest in the Gaza Strip, at 58.1%, with 24.5% in the West Bank agreeing.

Palestinians who support bombing attacks against Israeli civilians rose from 44.8% in June 2006 to 48% in September 2006 and to 50.7% now.
Again, more Gazans support these operations (65.1%), compared with 42.3% of Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Palestinian public is divided on the rocket attacks on Israel: 39.3% said the firing of these rockets was "useful" to Palestinian national interests, while 35.7% said they were harmful.


The poll results showed a general feeling of frustration with regards to the future of the Palestinian cause and the peace process in light of the ongoing Israeli military operations and the split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Both Fatah and Hamas continue to lose support among the Palestinians, and the level of trust in political leaders also dropped.
Support for Abbas fell from 18.3% in November to 11.7% this month. The poll also showed that fewer Palestinians are satisfied with Abbas's performance.

Support for Haniyeh also went down, from 16.3% in November to 13.3% this month. The same applies to Fatah's imprisoned leader, Marwan Barghouti, whose popularity moved down from 14.3% to 12.8% during the same period.

With regards to confidence in the political parties, support for Fatah decreased from 40% in November to 32.5% this month, while Hamas's popularity went down from 19.7% to 17.8%. The poll, conducted by the Jerusalem Media & Communications Center, covered 1,190 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. It was held from April 8-13.

[LRPV]

The poll is interesting, it appears as if all the Arab politicians are losing ground. Maybe a third party could move in on HAMAS and Fatah ground....unlikely but these people are obviously dis-satisfied with their leadership.

[Nephilim]

even if the hamas/fatach officials will move towards peace,
there will be some rogue dipsh1ts torpedoing the whole thing by blowing something up.
result would be isreal bombing them again.

and this goes on like a mill.

farce...

[kahn267]

If Hamas becomes non-extremist then Fatah will become extremist...... there always has to be two sides to the Palestinians so that the world will condemn Israel

besides the peace deal is limited to 10 years by Hamas apparently..... which can be broken in two seconds by anything Israel does

[Fade]

Hamas says it will accept Gaza ceasefire

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas has dropped its demand that any ceasefire with Israel include the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip.

The move marks a concession by Hamas.

Previously, the Islamic group has insisted that the West Bank be included in any ceasefire in Gaza.

It now says a ceasefire involving the West Bank could come about later.

Israel routinely conducts air strikes and military incursions against Palestinian rocket squads in Gaza, a strip of land bordering southern Israel and controlled by Hamas.

Even though Israel is conducting peace talks with a rival, western-supported Palestinian government in the West Bank, it regularly carries out raids in that territory as well. http://www.canoe.ca/CanoeGlobalnav/invisible.gif

Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire that "would begin in Gaza, and then move to the West Bank," rather than include both areas simultaneously.

Hamad said his group has relayed its position to Egypt, and was waiting for Israel's response.

As part of a ceasefire, Hamas demands that Israel and Egypt open Gaza's border crossings, Hamad said. The crossings have been closed since last year except for humanitarian aid in an attempt to weaken Hamas.

Israel has repeatedly said it isn't negotiating with Hamas. A government spokesman said Tuesday that Israel would keep up its military pressure on Hamas as long as the group threatens Israeli civilians.

"Israeli defence measures are necessary because of the ongoing terrorism launched by Hamas-controlled elements in Gaza. If there were no terror activities there would be no need for Israel's military activity," spokesman David Baker said.

Palestinian militants have carried out a string of strikes on Gaza's border crossings in the past two weeks, most recently a failed suicide bombing last Saturday. Militants view the crossings, used to deliver humanitarian aid and basic supplies to Gaza, as symbols of Israel's economic blockade of Gaza.

Hamas often puts forward conflicting messages, partially because of differences of opinion between the Gaza leaders, the powerful military wing and the supreme leadership based in Syria. A ceasefire would require the co-operation of the military wing and of smaller militant groups like Islamic Jihad, which don't always follow Hamas' lead.

The military wing is expected to go along with a decision by the Hamas' political leaders, but by Tuesday there was already internal dissent in the group about what exactly had been decided. A spokesman for the military wing, Ismail Radwan, rejected the idea of a Gaza-only ceasefire.

"We can't speak about a truce in the Gaza Strip, because we said any truce should be comprehensive, mutual and lift the siege, open the borders and halt the (Israeli) attacks," Radwan said.

The shift in Hamas' position came after statements by the group's Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal, after a meeting with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter last week.

Mashaal said Hamas would accept a peace deal with Israel, provided it is approved in a referendum of all Palestinians, and also offered a 10-year truce if Israel withdraws from the West Bank and Jerusalem. He offered no recognition of Israel and turned down a request from Carter for a halt to rocket fire immediately.

Amos Gilad, a senior Israel Defence Ministry official involved in the negotiations with Egypt, said Tuesday that Mashaal had offered nothing of significance and that his comments were meant only to give Hamas time to rearm.

"He is unmoving in his stance," Gilad told Army Radio. "Thus every mission that is meant to change this fails."

Palestinians want both Gaza and the West Bank for a future state.

Meanwhile, one of the Palestinian border attacks brought about the dismissal of the commander of an Israeli armoured battalion this week.

The military announced Tuesday that the officer's performance during an April 9 attack on the Nahal Oz fuel terminal was lacking and that he would be removed immediately. Two Israeli civilian workers were killed in the attack.

Also Tuesday, Israel announced that it had re-opened the key cargo crossing into Gaza after closing it Friday because of an attack.

While Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it still controls all of the border crossings but one, which is in Egyptian hands.

Source.... (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2007/12/20/4734667-ap.html)

[Switek]

Do you suppose they will create Hamas and Fatah branches of 'refugees'?

Nope I meant that some of gutted and ambitious members will go radicals and will not respect decision of more realistic wing.

[Snoshi]

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that his movement would not recognize Israel.
Speaking at the reopening of a children's hospital in Gaza, Haniyeh said that "Hamas is ready to recognize a diplomatic agreement to establish a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, which would include the refugees' return." (Ali Waked)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3535037,00.html

So much for Carter