Bluezoo
08-18-2005, 12:45 PM
Hamas says "battle not over" as Gaza settlers quit
17 Aug 2005 14:04:07 GMT
Source: *******
By Lin Noueihed
BEIRUT, Aug 17 (*******) - Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday Israel's evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza was a first step toward the liberation of all occupied land through armed struggle.
Hamas's top official Khaled Meshaal said the Islamist group would not give up its weapons while Israel continued to occupy land Palestinians want for a state.
"Gaza is the first liberation, then comes the West Bank, then every inch of Palestinian land," Meshaal told reporters in Beirut. "We are at the beginning of the road and we have not and will not give up our weapons. The battle is not over."
Israeli troops began a forced evacuation on Wednesday of thousands of settlers enraged by their expulsion from the Gaza Strip after Israel's 38-year occupation.
The move is the culmination of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for the first removal of settlements from land Palestinians want for a state.
Palestinian militants claim the withdrawal as victory and Israel opponents decry it as a surrender to violence. Washington hopes it will prove a catalyst for renewed peacemaking.
For Meshaal, speaking in front of a poster reading "Today Gaza, Tomorrow Jerusalem", the evacuation is proof the Palestinians can only win their land and rights by force, not through talks.
Meshaal hailed the move a precedent that marked a reversal of fortunes for Palestinians waging a nearly five-year uprising and the eventual end of Israel's occupation of land it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
"This is the first real Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territory and the beginning of the dismantling of the Zionist settlement project," said Meshaal, speaking amid tight security in the stronghold of Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group.
"We are seeing a precedent for withdrawal not by negotiation but through resistance ... We are seeing an important step toward complete liberation and regaining our rights ... the beginning of the end for the Zionist occupation."
"THE BEGINNING OF THE END"
Israel says the evacuation will end its occupation of Gaza, but Palestinians say that can only happen once they gain full control of borders and airspace.
Meshaal said Hamas reserved the right to attack should Israel keep control of Gaza border crossings, as Hizbollah has continued to hit Israeli troops in a disputed border area since Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000.
But Meshaal steered clear of restating Hamas's historic goal of creating an Islamic state that would encompass not only the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but what is now Israel.
"The Zionist plan has begun to retreat. The Palestinian liberation plan of resistance has begun to progress," said the politburo chief, based outside Palestinian territories.
Israel plans to pull out the last troops from Gaza in October, turning the land over to the Palestinian Authority.
While claiming the dismantling of settlements the World Court considers illegal, as a victory for all Palestinians, Meshaal said Hamas would take a share in political power too.
Though listed by the United States and Europe as a terrorist organisation, Hamas has already said it will run for the first time in Palestinian parliamentary elections set for Jan. 21.
The elections were originally set for July but were postponed by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas has accused Abbas of stalling for time to weed out corruption in his Fatah faction ahead of the polls.
For the full text, go to:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17695216.htm
17 Aug 2005 14:04:07 GMT
Source: *******
By Lin Noueihed
BEIRUT, Aug 17 (*******) - Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday Israel's evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza was a first step toward the liberation of all occupied land through armed struggle.
Hamas's top official Khaled Meshaal said the Islamist group would not give up its weapons while Israel continued to occupy land Palestinians want for a state.
"Gaza is the first liberation, then comes the West Bank, then every inch of Palestinian land," Meshaal told reporters in Beirut. "We are at the beginning of the road and we have not and will not give up our weapons. The battle is not over."
Israeli troops began a forced evacuation on Wednesday of thousands of settlers enraged by their expulsion from the Gaza Strip after Israel's 38-year occupation.
The move is the culmination of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for the first removal of settlements from land Palestinians want for a state.
Palestinian militants claim the withdrawal as victory and Israel opponents decry it as a surrender to violence. Washington hopes it will prove a catalyst for renewed peacemaking.
For Meshaal, speaking in front of a poster reading "Today Gaza, Tomorrow Jerusalem", the evacuation is proof the Palestinians can only win their land and rights by force, not through talks.
Meshaal hailed the move a precedent that marked a reversal of fortunes for Palestinians waging a nearly five-year uprising and the eventual end of Israel's occupation of land it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
"This is the first real Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territory and the beginning of the dismantling of the Zionist settlement project," said Meshaal, speaking amid tight security in the stronghold of Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group.
"We are seeing a precedent for withdrawal not by negotiation but through resistance ... We are seeing an important step toward complete liberation and regaining our rights ... the beginning of the end for the Zionist occupation."
"THE BEGINNING OF THE END"
Israel says the evacuation will end its occupation of Gaza, but Palestinians say that can only happen once they gain full control of borders and airspace.
Meshaal said Hamas reserved the right to attack should Israel keep control of Gaza border crossings, as Hizbollah has continued to hit Israeli troops in a disputed border area since Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000.
But Meshaal steered clear of restating Hamas's historic goal of creating an Islamic state that would encompass not only the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but what is now Israel.
"The Zionist plan has begun to retreat. The Palestinian liberation plan of resistance has begun to progress," said the politburo chief, based outside Palestinian territories.
Israel plans to pull out the last troops from Gaza in October, turning the land over to the Palestinian Authority.
While claiming the dismantling of settlements the World Court considers illegal, as a victory for all Palestinians, Meshaal said Hamas would take a share in political power too.
Though listed by the United States and Europe as a terrorist organisation, Hamas has already said it will run for the first time in Palestinian parliamentary elections set for Jan. 21.
The elections were originally set for July but were postponed by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas has accused Abbas of stalling for time to weed out corruption in his Fatah faction ahead of the polls.
For the full text, go to:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17695216.htm