Ismail Haniyeh sends letter to UN pretending that terror is allowed under international law - by Elder of Ziyon

...He also quotes several non-binding General Assembly resolutions that from the early 1970s that say that people under colonial subjugation have the right to resist "by all necessary means," which never includes terrorism, except to Palestinians and their fans. Of course, Israel is not a colonialist state to begin with, but the idea that international law allows Hamas-style terror attacks is absurd.

Elder of Ziyon..
29 November '18..

Hamas "political" leader Ismail Haniyeh sent a letter to the UN against an American initiative to condemn the group for shooting rockets at Israeli civilians.

In the letter, Haniyeh claims that Hamas' terror is not only not prohibited, but a "right" under international law.

The letter says:

The rules of international humanitarian law have contributed to strengthening the legal status of the resistance and national liberation movements against the occupation, and to legitimizing their resistance activities to achieve their right to self-determination as mentioned in the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, in particular article 1 / paragraph 4,

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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BBC now reports on designation of a terror group it previously ignored but... - by Hadar Sela

...Readers were also not told that the other two groups on the list are suspected of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Hence when they read at the end of the report that the US Secretary of State said that “[t]hese designations target key terrorist groups and leaders – including two sponsored and directed by Iran” [emphasis added], BBC audiences would not understand that, in addition to Harakat al-Sabireen, he was referring to Hamas. As regular readers know, the BBC has long refrained from producing any meaningful reporting on the topic of Iranian funding of Hamas terror.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
04 February '18..

On January 31st the BBC News website published a report titled “Ismail Haniya: US designates Hamas leader as terrorist“.

“The United States has designated the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas as a terrorist and imposed sanctions on him.

The state department said Ismail Haniya had “close links with Hamas’ military wing” and been a “proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians”.”

That presentation failed to inform BBC audiences that the US announcement concerning the man described last year by the BBC as “a pragmatist” also included the following:

“Haniyeh has close links with Hamas’ military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians. He has reportedly been involved in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens.” [emphasis added]

The report went on:

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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U.S. Designates a Hamas Terrorist , a "Terrorist". ‘Moderate’ Palestinian ‘Peace Negotiator’ Outraged - by Sean Durns

...Erekat said that the “PLO rejects and condemns the U.S. finance department's decision to add Islamic Hamas movement chief Ismail Haniyeh to the terrorist list." Both the PLO and the PA, which rules the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), are dominated by the Fatah movement and led by Mahmoud Abbas. All three entities, as well as Abbas, are frequently labeled “moderate” by the press.

Ismail Haniyeh

Sean Durns..
CAMERA Snapshots..
31 January '18..
Link: http://blog.camera.org/archives/2018/02/moderate_palestinian_peace_neg.html

On Jan. 31, 2018 the United States State Department announced that top Hamas operative Ismail Haniyeh was now listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Less than twenty-four hours later, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) chief “peace negotiator,” Saeb Erekat, decried the United States’ decision. Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip and calls for the destruction of Israel.

In a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) press statement, Erekat said that the “PLO rejects and condemns the U.S. finance department's decision to add Islamic Hamas movement chief Ismail Haniyeh to the terrorist list." Both the PLO and the PA, which rules the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), are dominated by the Fatah movement and led by Mahmoud Abbas. All three entities, as well as Abbas, are frequently labeled “moderate” by the press.

The State Department noted that Haniyeh “has been involved in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens” and “Hamas has been responsible for an estimated 17 American lives killed in terrorist attacks.” Haniyeh is the head of the terror group’s so-called “political bureau.” As Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. Treasury Department terror analyst, noted in his 2006 book Hamas: Politics, Charity and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, all factions of Hamas are closely intertwined; claims that the political branch does not coordinate with the so-called “military bureau” that carries out attacks are false.

Surprise! BBC News website plays along with the ‘softer’ Hamas spin - by Hadar Sela

...While journalists at the BBC News website (in contrast to some of their colleagues) clearly understand that Hamas’ latest moves are no more than an attempt to embellish its image for various outside audiences, that its original antisemitic charter still stands and that no significant changes have been made to Hamas policy, curiously they apparently still find it appropriate to provide a platform for the spin of a ‘softer’ Hamas and refrain from informing audiences in clear terms that Ismail Haniyeh is no different to – and no more ‘pragmatic’ than – his predecessor.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
08 May '17..

On May 6th the BBC News website published an article titled “Hamas chooses Ismail Haniya as new leader” on its Middle East page.

Readers are told that:

“Mr Haniya is seen as a pragmatist who will try to ease Hamas’s international isolation.”

However, audiences are not informed by whom exactly the new Hamas political bureau leader is regarded as “a pragmatist” and neither are they given any insight into Haniyeh’s record of decidedly unrealistic statements that the people who have suffered under his rule for the past decade might well find less than practical and sensible.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Sincere wishes for a complete and thorough recovery as soon as possible

...We again wish the people of Gaza better times, better health, better lives. And we also wish them - and ourselves - a complete and rapid separation from that iron-fisted, ideologically-crazed cursed Islamist leadership which never hesitates to impose cruel hardships, high infant mortality, horrible medical care and massive managerial indifference on their own society while reserving to its own well-connected insiders the privilege of efficiently engaging with the Zionist Entity when it suits them personally.

Haniyeh: The power to ensure he is always
just a phone call away from arranging whatever
needs to be arranged [Image Source]

Frimet/Arnold Roth..
This Ongoing War..
20 October '14..

Generally, if you have some authoritative information about another person's medical condition or treatment, you keep it to yourself. Everyone is entitled to privacy when it comes to such things. But this note is about an exception.

Not for the first time, it's been revealed via media reports in the past day that the immediate family of one of the inner-circle Hamas families who have the Gaza Strip in their iron-fisted grip benefited from access to world-class Israeli medical care.

The details:

An Israeli hospital confirmed Sunday that it had treated the daughter of Hamas’s top leader in the Gaza Strip, weeks after a brutal war between Israel and the Islamist terror group. Avi Shushan, a spokesman for Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, said the daughter of Ismail Haniyeh was hospitalized for “a number of days” this month. He did not disclose what she was treated for. A spokeswoman for the Israeli military also confirmed the hospital stay. Hamas officials were not immediately available for comment... Haniyeh’s daughter was treated in Israel following complications during a standard medical procedure in Gaza, Reuters reported Sunday. [Times of Israel, October 19, 2014]

Haniyeh was, maybe still is, prime minister of a major part of the Palestinian political entity (see Wikipedia). It's complicated because in their world, reality is what the powerful demand it to be, and does not always fit well with the facts.

This hospitalization is not an isolated incident:

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Israel, decency and what the real obstacles to peace are

...That Israel would offer medical aid to the relative of a man who is actively working to kill Jews and destroy their state doesn’t make it perfect or above scrutiny. But it shows that despite the drumbeat of incitement against it throughout the world, Israel’s government and its institutions remain committed to decency in its interactions even with its most bitter foes. These are just three items amid hundreds that happen every year that tell much the same story.

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary Magazine..
19 November '13..

Blaming Israel appears to be in fashion these days. During his most recent trip to the Middle East, Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear that he blamed Israel for the continuation of the conflict with the Palestinians without so much as a mention about the latter’s ongoing refusal to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders might be drawn. That trend extends even to the discussion about negotiations with Iran as the administration is making it clear that it is more worried about Israel’s position on the nuclear threat than it is about Tehran’s deceptive diplomacy, a position that many of Kerry’s cheerleaders in the media (like Fareed Zakaria of Time Magazine and CNN) is picking up. But three stories that managed not to make it into the New York Times and other major international media outlets give you a better sense of the nature of the conflict than any of those involving Kerry or the back and forth between Washington and Jerusalem.

First, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, the blameless side of the peace talks according to Kerry, did not just welcome the terrorists freed by Israel as part of the price paid to get the PA to come back to the peace table as heroes. It now turns out that every one of these murderers was given at least $50,000 as well as a government salary and jobs.

As the Times of Israel reports:

Issa Abd Rabbo, the most veteran of the prisoners released, received a $60,000 bonus, with the PA reportedly also offering to foot the bill for a wedding should he choose to marry. He was convicted of murdering two Israeli hikers south of Jerusalem in 1984, after tying them up at gunpoint and placing bags over their heads.

Elsewhere, Palestine Media Watch reports that the Palestinian who murdered an Israeli soldier in September had used PA TV to send a cryptic message to a brother, jailed by Israel for terrorist activities, informing him that a plan to kidnap a soldier and ransom the body for his release would soon be launched. Though the plot to use the dead body of the Israeli was foiled, the killer had used a popular official PA TV program devoted to honoring imprisoned terrorists to alert the brother to the plot.

These two stories tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the nature of the Palestinian Authority. Though Kerry continues to act as if the PA is a non-violent and well-intentioned peace partner for Israel, it remains committed to perpetuating the conflict and fomenting hatred against Israel and the Jews.

For future use when Haniyeh is next depicted as partner for peace

Frimet/Arnold Roth..
This Ongoing War..
29 October '12..

Ignore the confusing English. The source is a Persian-language news channel translated from the source Arabic and then rendered into English by a team of salaried propagandists.

But there's no mistaking the intent of Ismail Haniyeh, the man who heads the Hamas regime that dominates the Gaza Strip and "one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority". Source: This past Saturday night's edition of the Iranian news channel, FARS [online]

Hamas Leader: Palestinian Stance against Israel Unchangeable
20:40 | 2012-10-27

TEHRAN (FNA)- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh underlined his nation's irrevocable stance against Israel, stressing that Palestinians will never ignore even a single span of their land. "We (Palestinians) will never overlook even one span of Palestine's soil because Palestine is an endowed land and no person, leader, organization or group is entitled to the right to ignore this land," Haniyeh said in a meeting on Saturday with the members of 'Miles of Smiles 17' aid convoy and an Indonesian delegation visiting Gaza. "Israel has no future in the Palestinian lands and our motto is that we will never recognize the Zionist regime," he said.

A man of principle.

Khaled Abu Toameh - Hamas and Fatah Want a New Intifada

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Stonegate Institute..
27 February '12..

Hamas and Fatah have lately ratcheted up their rhetoric against Israel in a clear bid to distract attention from their failure to end their power struggle. By backing a "popular resistance" against Israel, Hamas and Fatah are hoping to distract attention from their failure to end their dispute and form a unity government.

The two rival Palestinian parties are hoping that Palestinians would turn their anger and frustration toward Israel and not toward either of them.

This is why over the past few weeks leaders and officials representing Hamas and Fatah have been talking about a third intifada that is about to erupt in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israel.

Both Hamas and Fatah have been urging Palestinians to step up "popular resistance" against Israel. The two parties are telling Palestinians that Israel does not want peace or a two-state solution and is only interested in maintaining control over Palestinian lands and "Judaizing" Jerusalem.

The stepped-up anti-Israel rhetoric has resulted in a sharp increase in Palestinian violence against IDF soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Israeli policemen in east Jerusalem.

Marquadt-Bigman - Iran’s proxy war against Israel

Petra Marquadt-Bigman..
The Warped Mirror..
14 February '12..



The ample media coverage on Israel rarely addresses the fact that Iran has long supported the jihadist war against the Jewish state. Yossi Klein Halevi spelled this out very clearly in an article in March 2008, where he argued that even in Israel, there was too little awareness and acknowledgment of Iran’s central role in the constant attacks on Israel:

“The jihadist war against Israel has shifted from one front to another–suicide bombings inside Israeli cities until 2004, Katyushas on Haifa in the north in 2006, and now Katyushas on Ashkelon in the south. All are battles in the same war. So far, it is a war without an all-encompassing name, and that linguistic failure reflects a larger Israeli failure to treat this as a unified conflict.”

But recently — and perhaps not coincidentally – both Hezbollah and Hamas have acknowledged the support they receive from Iran.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah emphasized in a recent speech that his group has received “all possible forms of moral, political, and material support from the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1982. In the past, although we didn’t lie about this, we only told half of the truth. We said we have moral support and political support, but when we were asked about material, financial, or military support, we kept silent.”

Roth - Quotes of the day: Very surprisingly "the gun is our only response..."

Haniyeh speaks in Tehran on Saturday.
Behind him are portraits of former
Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and Even
More Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei [Image Source]

Frimet/Arnold Roth..
This Ongoing War..
13 February '12..

The prime minister of "Hamas" (not to confused with the prime minister of "Palestine") is visiting Iran at this moment. There has been some new confusion in some quarters, to add to old confusions, over what Hamas and/or the Palestinian Arabs and/or the Gaza version thereof stand for in relation to this elusive thing called peace. So Ismail Haniyah took the opportunity and an Iranian spotlight to set things straight.

Recent news reports have spoken of a change in Hamas' declared strategy in its war against Israel. Some Hamas officials have said Hamas is heading toward a strategy of nonviolent resistance. Well not so fast.

Haaretz and Associated Press today quote the arch terrorist's clarifications, direct from Tehran and via the Iranian government controlled Fars news agency:

Hamas will focus on popular protests to unify Palestinians but the 'gun is our only response to Zionist regime'.

Haniyeh says Hamas views armed "resistance" as the only way to fight Israel and "no compromise should be made with the enemy" (that's us)

And as for the recently signed "reconciliation" deal with Fatah, this was "for resistance and obtaining Palestinians' rights" only.

The west, he says "want us to stop resistance and acknowledge Israel but I herewith announce that this will never happen."

All Together Now!

Love of the Land..
13 February '12..





While the Sunni-Shiite War continues, approaching almost 1,400 years, there are moments of conciliation, points of common agreement, that can overcome, at least temporarily, more than a millenium of conflict.

Martin Kramer has discovered such a moment:

Martin Kramer:
Ismail Haniyah, Hamas "prime minister," finds a common denominator with his hosts on his Iran visit: " I am announcing from Azadi Square in Tehran that we will never recognize Israel… The resistance will continue until all the Palestinian land, including Al-Quds [Jerusalem], is liberated and all the refugees return."

Haniyeh to Iranian People: You Are Partners in Arab Victories | Al-Manarwww.almanar.com.lb

‎"Haniyeh took part Saturday in Iran's commemoration of its 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran. After thanking the Islamic Republic for supporting the resistance movements, he assured that Hamas 'will never recognize Israel.'" 

"They want us to recognize the Israeli occupation and cease resistance but, as the representative of the Palestinian people and in the name of all the world's freedom seekers, I am announcing from Azadi Square in Tehran that we will never recognize Israel,” he said.

Haniyeh further emphasized that resistance and jihad are the strategic choice for this nation and the only path for liberating Al-Quds.

Tobin - Palestinians Make Themselves Irrelevant

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary/Contentions..
07 February '12..

There was something interesting about the reaction to the consummation of the Fatah-Hamas unity pact yesterday. The agreement, which confirmed the entry of the Islamist terrorist group into the governing structure of the Palestinian Authority and the exit of the PA’s reform-minded Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, provoked the expected harsh words from Israel’s government. In Washington, the reaction from the Obama administration was equally predictable as the State Department spokesperson withheld judgment. Some members of Congress served notice that the PA’s embrace of Hamas meant the end of U.S. aid.

But the main conclusion to be drawn from the reaction to what can only be termed a momentous turn of events is something entirely different. The lack of alarm or even much worry about the impact of Hamas on the peace process makes it clear not only is there no more peace process to worry about, but that the Palestinians have made themselves irrelevant.

Where once the international chattering classes doted upon every aspect of Palestinian politics in a way that confirmed the prevalent myth that Israel’s antagonists were truly at the heart of all the problems of the Middle East, it is no longer possible for even their cheerleaders and apologists to pretend this is so. In the 18+ years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians have talked and bombed their way not only out of peace and the independent state they claimed they wanted but also off the front pages. While supporters of Israel still keep their eyes on the goings-on in Ramallah and Gaza, the rest of the world is gradually moving on.

Kedar - Thank You, Hamas

Dr. Mordechai Kedar..
jewishpress.com..
16 January '12..




Is Islam the solution for hunger? Unemployment? Ignorance? Violence? Poverty? Illness? Neglect? The leaders of the Islamist movements, like the leaders of the nationalist movements, shout one thing and mean the opposite.

This week, Isma’il Haniye, Prime Minister of Hamastan-Gaza went for a visit in Tunisia. This was a state visit, according to the official invitation sent to him by the Tunisian government, whose ruling party is an ideological twin sister to Hamas. The name of this movement is An-Nahada, (“Awakening”), referring to the Islamic awakening. The visit was not coordinated with the embassy of the PLO in Tunisia and was held despite the opposition of the PLO, who objected because according to the PLO, Isma’il Haniye is not the Prime Minister since he was fired by Abu Mazen after the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007. This visit has several important components:

1. Tunisia recognizes the government of Hamas as a legitimate government, without saying who this government belongs to, so that they won’t offend the PLO. In this way, Tunisia recognizes that there are two Palestinian governments: one in Gaza, headed by Haniye, and one in Ramalla, headed by Salam Fayyad.

2. At the airport Haniye was received in an official ceremony by the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Hamdi al-Jibali, and the leader of the An-Nahda movement, Rashed al-Ghaoushi. The five-day state visit enabled the visitor to meet with many and varied people of official status, beginning with the president Moncef al-Marzouki (secular up to his ears) and ministers of the country. Thus, the Tunisian government’s recognition of Hamas is not limited only to some Islamists but includes recognition by other sectors as well. Moreover, it must be noted that the recognition is so far de facto, not yet officially.

3. The Tunisians did not bother at all to announce the visit to the PLO embassy, nor did the people of the embassy participate at all in the reception of Haniye, as if Haniye has nothing to do with them, and the Tunisians support this.

Hornik - A Terrorist’s Triumphant Tour

P. David Hornik..
frontpagemag.com..
10 January '12..



The new star of Middle Eastern diplomacy is Gaza-based Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. Most recently visiting Tunisia, he’s also been in Egypt, Sudan, and Turkey, and the itinerary will also include Qatar and Bahrain.

It’s Haniyeh’s first tour of the region since Hamas seized all power in Gaza in 2007. The timing is no coincidence. As Haniyeh himself told a rally in Tunis on Sunday:

Israel no longer has allies in Egypt and in Tunisia, we are saying to the Zionist enemies that times have changed and that the time of the Arab Spring, the time of the revolution, of dignity and of pride has arrived.

A crowd of 5000 men, women, and children in a stadium (another report puts the number much higher), waving PLO, Tunisian, and Hamas flags, responded with chants of “Death to Israel,” “The Tunisian revolution supports Palestine,” and “The army of Muhammad is back.” AP also reports that “At one entrance, people walked over a piece of cloth sporting the Star of David….”

The rally—presumably including the piece of cloth—was organized by Haniyeh’s hosts, the recently elected, ruling Ennahda Party. Ritually called “moderate Islamist” in Western media, its longtime leader Rachid Ghannouchi said in 1994: “We must wage unceasing war against the Americans until they leave the land of Islam, or we will burn and destroy all their interests across the entire Islamic world.”

Tobin - Hamas Leader’s Tour Theme: Fight “Judaization” of Jerusalem

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary/Contentions..
28 December '11..

The tour of Arab capitals being conducted by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh should throw cold water on the idea that the Hamas-Fatah unity pact will result in greater Palestinian flexibility and willingness to make peace with Israel. Haniyeh, who was in Cairo yesterday as part of his triumphant journey through the Middle East, made it clear that Hamas’ priority remains heating up the conflict with the Jewish state. By using the visit to call upon Muslims and Arabs to fight against what he called the “Judaization” of Jerusalem, the leader of the Gaza-based terror movement shone a spotlight on a new phase of incitement toward violence.

In attempting to rally Muslims to “defend” the city against the Jews, Haniyeh is following in the footsteps of past generations of Islamist leaders who sought to foment violence against Jewish targets. Considering that Hamas’ declared goal is the eviction of Jews from all of the Jewish state, his declaration that Israel is planning an “ethnic cleansing” of the city and, indeed, the whole country, rings false. But, coming as it did at the end of the festival of Chanukah, which commemorates the Jewish effort to hold onto their capital and holy places, his statements ought to sober up any Israelis who thought the unity pact might heighten the chances for peace.

Fresnozionism - Reports of Hamas moderation greatly exaggerated

Fresnozionism.org
27 December '11




Every so often we hear that Hamas has decided to change its spots:

[Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal and the PLO's Mahmoud Abbas] held a November 24 summit meeting in Cairo where they reportedly agreed on main three points: a Palestinian state will be established in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; non-violent resistance will be the tool for achieving this goal; and legislative and presidential elections will take place on May 4, 2012. The first point tacitly acknowledges Israel’s right to exist and the second would align Hamas’ strategy with that of Abbas, who is committed to seeking a negotiated peace with Israel.

Jane’s Defence & Security Intelligence & Analysis was the first to report Hamas’ acceptance to give up armed resistance.

At their latest summit December 21, the two paved the way for Hamas to join the PLO, the Palestinian umbrella organization that to date has been dominated by the Fatah movement. Many observers took that as yet another signs that Hamas is moving to come closer to the Fatah position. — Mohammed Najib, Media Line

If this were true, it might be a problem for Ismail Haniyeh, the ‘Prime Minister’ of the Gaza Strip. Two days before the summit, he gave this speech:

(Video) PMW - Promoting violence & terror

PMW..
Palwatch.org..
26 December '11..



Hamas leader Haniyeh: Armed resistance is the path, Palestine is from the sea to the river



Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh:

"We say today, explicitly, so it cannot be explained otherwise, that the armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel] from the blessed land of Palestine. The Hamas movement will lead Intifada after Intifada until we liberate Palestine - all of Palestine, Allah willing. Allah Akbar and praise Allah. We say with transparency and in a clear manner, that Palestinian reconciliation - and all sides must know this - cannot come at the expense of [our] principles, at the expense of the resistance. These principles are absolute and cannot be disputed: Palestine - all of Palestine - is from the sea to the river. We won't relinquish one inch of the land of Palestine. The involvement of Hamas at any stage with the interim objective of liberation of [only[ Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, does not replace its strategic view concerning Palestine and the land of Palestine."
[Al-Aqsa (Hamas), Dec. 14, 2011]

Link: http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=450&fld_id=450&doc_id=6020

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Tobin - The Palestinian Balance of Terror

Jonathan S. Tobin
Commentary/Contentions
19 December '11

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/12/19/palestinian-terror-unity-fatah-hamas/

On Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal will meet again in Cairo to discuss the implementation of the Fatah-Hamas unity pact that was first signed in May. Though the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh reports there are still significant differences between the two groups, the resumption of the talks between them indicates that there is still a much greater chance of peace between the Palestinian factions than between the PA and Israel. Abbas’ desire to prefer “unity” with the Islamists of Hamas to negotiations with Israel illustrates the bankruptcy of a peace process that is predicated on the idea that “moderates” such as those running the PA are ready to recognize Israel’s legitimacy.

Though some Palestinian apologists claim the unity deal will housetrain Hamas, this contradicts everything we know about the terrorist group. Far from the deal illustrating the willingness of Hamas to acquiesce to Israel’s existence, the relative shift in strength between the two movements since May as well as the growing influence of Islamists in Egypt shows progress toward implementation of the pact makes peace with Israel impossible.

No matter what the final terms of this unity pact turn out to be, it should first be understood that by choosing to embrace Hamas rather than seeking to eliminate their influence, Abbas and Fatah have indicated their lack of interest in ending the conflict with Israel. Former U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell used to like to analogize the Middle East conflict to Ireland and say that if the Irish and the British could learn to live with each other then so could the Israelis and the Palestinians. But what he always failed to understand is that the leaders of the Irish independence movement made a critical decision in 1922 when Michael Collins chose peace and partition over the maximalist demands of his Irish Republican Army colleagues. Collins and the peace faction didn’t just sign an agreement with Britain; they were prepared to fight a bloody civil war against their extremist brethren. Their victory in that conflict, which cost Collins his life, enabled the two-state solution in Ireland that persists to this day.

Abrams - Who Will Condemn Haniyah’s Call For Terror?

Elliott Abrams
cfr.org
15 December '11

http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2011/12/15/who-will-condemn-haniyahs-call-for-terror/

With the Palestinian Authority still negotiating for a unity government with Hamas, and elections now scheduled for May 2012, it is worth asking whether Hamas has changed. Has the effect of the Arab Spring, where Islamist parties have won elections in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt, led Hamas to turn away from terrorism toward the ballot box or to moderate any of its positions?

Here is what the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah, Gaza’s “prime minister,” told a huge rally in Gaza on December 13:

We affirm that armed resistance is our strategic option and the only way to liberate our land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the River [Jordan]. God willing, Hamas will lead the people… to the uprising until we liberate Palestine, all of Palestine.

So, the commitment to terrorism and the absolute refusal to accept the existence of Israel remain. Indeed, this was a call for the violent destruction of the Jewish State. Those who, like Secretary of Defense Panetta, continue to say “just get to the damn table” are blinding themselves to the most obvious problems of the “peace process.” Putting aside the fact that it is the Palestinians, not Israel, who are refusing to go to the table, is it worthwhile negotiating with half of the Palestinian polity when the other half is announcing such goals, and any agreement that might be reached cannot be implemented?

Ramsey Clark Embraces Hamas: Whose Reputation Is Damaged?

Jonathan S. Tobin
Commentary/Contentions
05 January '11

Ramsey Clark, the former U.S. attorney general who went on to a career of far-left anti-American activism, is in Gaza this week to express his solidarity with the Hamas terrorists who rule the strip and opposition to any Israeli measure of self-defense against them. Normally when a Western pilgrim goes to Gaza to be manipulated by the Islamist regime there, we tend to think that it is the visitor who is discredited by his willingness to associate with an organization of ruthless killers. But perhaps in this case, it is Hamas that should be worried about being tainted by Clark’s friendship.

After all, though Clark was a civil-rights-enforcement lawyer in the Justice Department in the 1960s, his legal work since then has specialized not just in the defense of mass murderers but also in the support of them. While anyone, even killers, is entitled to a lawyer, Clark’s bizarre animus toward his own country has led him to be the mouthpiece for Saddam Hussein, Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, and Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a leader of the Rwanda genocide. In these cases, Clark didn’t just seek to undermine the prosecution of the killers; he tried to rationalize their homicidal actions. Among the notably unsavory beneficiaries of Clark’s good offices were Nazi war criminals Karl Linnas, the commandant of the Tartu concentration camp in Estonia, and Jack Riemer, a Nazi concentration-camp guard. He also defended the Palestinian Liberation Organization against a lawsuit brought by the family of Leon Klinghoffer, the crippled American Jew who was murdered by terrorists on the Achille Lauro cruise ship.

While Hamas is always glad to welcome any Western fool who will pose for pictures with its leaders, perhaps in this case it is the Islamist group, which actively seeks to convey the false image that it is composed of victims rather than the killers they truly are, that ought to be worried by Clark’s embrace.

(Read full "Ramsey Clark Embraces Hamas: Whose Reputation Is Damaged?")

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