Hamas leader rejects talks with Israel
Published: Sep 2, 2010 00:20 Updated: Sep 2, 2010 00:20
GAZA CITY: The top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip rejected compromise with Israel in a fiery speech Wednesday, a day after gunmen killed four Israelis in a strong reminder that the militant group cannot be ignored in any Mideast deal.
In an address to Hamas members, Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for joining the negotiations.
“Today marks the start of direct negotiations between someone who has no right to represent the Palestinian people and the brutal occupier, to provide a cover for Judaizing Jerusalem and stealing the land,” Zahar said.
Hamas leaders have sharply criticized Abbas in recent days for agreeing to resume negotiations with Israel.
“The enemy of the Palestinian people is the Zionist enemy,” Zahar said.
Zahar rejected the idea of compromise with Israel, saying that “liberating” all the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River — a reference to Israel's destruction — is a moral and religious duty. He said Palestinians must not abandon armed resistance against Israeli occupation.
Despite Zahar's tough words, it's unclear whether the militants will try to derail the negotiations with more attacks or whether the shooting was an isolated incident.
The group — shunned by the West and Israel as a terror organization — possesses a large arsenal of rockets that it could launch at Israeli border towns. But Hamas has largely refrained from attacks since suffering heavy losses in an Israeli offensive early last year.
“We are not talking about revealing our cards now,” said Hamas official Ahmed Yousef.
On Wednesday, Yesha Council, which represents the settlers, symbolically restarted a handful of construction projects in the West Bank. Israeli police did not interfere, but it's not clear how much the settlers could realistically build.
Some 300,000 Israelis now live in West Bank settlements, along with nearly 200,000 others in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, for their future state.

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DASTAGIR
Sep 10, 2010 04:30
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