Hamas leader: Resistance can liberate West Bank and the rest of "Palestine"
Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh on eve of Fatah-Hamas unity government:
Reconciliation meant to unify
the Palestinian people
against the main enemy, "the Zionist enemy"
and to continue with the option of resistance
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 28, 2014]
"Those who liberated Gaza, with the help of Allah,
can liberate Jerusalem, the West Bank
and the rest of Palestine (i.e., Israel)"
[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), May 29, 2014]
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has stated that he will be announcing the Fatah-Hamas unity government tomorrow. Hamas' current Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, expressed his expectations for the new Palestinian government:
- "Unify the Palestinian people against... "the Zionist enemy"
- "Partnership in the institution of leadership, adherence to the national principles"
- "Protection of the resistance project, protection of the weapon of resistance"
- "Liberation of Jerusalem, the West Bank and the rest of Palestine (i.e., Israel)"
- "Release of prisoners"
Palestinian Media Watch has found several comments made by Haniyeh over the last few days, defining these goals. In one talk he promised that the purpose of the reconciliation is to unite against Israel, "the Zionist enemy":
"[Hamas Prime Minister] Ismail Haniyeh, told a large crowd of [Hamas] supporters in Rafah earlier yesterday that the reconciliation is meant to unify the Palestinian people against the main enemy, 'the Zionist enemy,' and to continue with the option of resistance and resolve."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 28, 2014]
On Al-Aqsa TV, Haniyeh reiterated the Hamas goal of destroying Israel through violence. He said that Palestinian "resistance" (i.e., violence) led to Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and will also “liberate Jerusalem, the West Bank and the rest of Palestine." Since he already said “Jerusalem and the West Bank,” the term “rest of Palestine,” can only mean the rest of Israel:
"We think that the path of negotiations and peace talks has reached a dead end and that the resistance [Intifada, 2000-2005], which liberated Gaza and defended Gaza, can liberate the West Bank and the rest of the Palestinian lands, Allah willing. Those who liberated Gaza, with the help of Allah, can liberate Jerusalem, the West Bank and the rest of Palestine."
[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), May 29, 2014]
The independent Palestinian news agency Ma'an quoted Haniyeh explaining that the unity means "partnership" in several areas, among them "protection of the resistance project" and of "the weapon of resistance":
"The Prime Minister of the deposed [Hamas] government, Ismail Haniyeh, said tonight, Wednesday, that the [Fatah and Hamas] reconciliation does not signify [merely] the end of the split, but rather, a new period based on real partnership in decision-making and politics... Haniyeh said: '[Reconciliation] also means real partnership in the institution of leadership, adherence to the national principles, protection of the resistance project, protection of the weapon of resistance, and [joint] action with all our people for the release of the prisoners and Jerusalem.'"
[From Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, May 28, 2014]