The Corner Report

This is the most recent interview with Khaled Mesh’al who, since 1996, has been the Chairman of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Political Bureau. After the assassination of Hamas leader Abdul ‘Aziz Rantisi in 2004, Mesh’al became the overall leader of the movement.

In this interview with the Jordanian Al-Sabeel newspaper in July 2010, Mesh’al lays out the policy direction of Hamas on a number of critical issues: negotiations with Israel, international relations, Jews, Christians, women, among other issues. The interview – which was conducted over many hours – has been received as significant in the Arab world and is regarded as a clear indication of positions that Hamas wants to pursue, especially with regard to future attitudes towards Israel. It is an important piece articulating, in their own words, the perspectives of Hamas’ leaders, and is critical reading for all observers of the Middle East, and all policy-makers for whom the Middle East is important. The Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC) translated this interview into English to make it accessible to a wider audience, and allow for greater understanding – especially in the English-speaking world – of the political perspectives of a movement which has become one of the most important role-players in the Middle East today.

On negotiations

Do you reject, in principle, negotiations with the enemy? If negotiations could not be conducted with the enemy, is it possible to do so with a friend? Does Hamas reject the principle of negotiations outright, or do you reject its form, conduct and results?

This is definitely a thorny and sensitive issue, and many people prefer to avoid any discussion of it, and tend not to take any clear position on it for fear of negative reactions or misinterpretations. The sensitive and critical nature of this issue is compounded by the dark shadows that are cast as a result of the bitter experiences of Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli negotiations. People are influenced by these experiences, and are extremely sensitive towards the idea of “negotiations”, particularly with regard to the collective mind and mood of the nation. There is now, in many quarters, loathing for and aversion towards the concept of negotiations. This is quite understandable and natural, but this does not preclude tackling the issue thoroughly and sorting through matters carefully so as to set every detail into context, God willing.

It is indisputable that negotiating with the enemy is not rejected, either legally or rationally; indeed, there are some stages during a conflict among enemies when negotiations are required and become necessary. Both from a rational perspective and from legal logic, it is true that negotiations as a means and a tool may be acceptable and legitimate at certain points in time, and rejected and prohibited at other times; that is, it is not rejected in itself nor is it rejected all the time.

In Islamic history, in the era of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and in subsequent ages – at the time of Salahuddin [Saladin], for example – negotiation with the enemy was conducted, but within a clear framework and a specific philosophy, within a context, vision, rules and regulations governing this negotiation. This is in stark contrast to the wretched approach taken by those negotiation professionals who consider it a way of life and the sole strategic option in the service of which all other options are ruled out.

If resistance itself, honourable and esteemed as it is, is a means and not an end, does it make sense to make negotiations an end, an only option and a constant approach, rather than being a means and a tactic to fall back on when necessary and when the context requires it?

The concept in the Qur’an is clear, when God Almighty says: “And if they incline to peace, incline (you also to peace), and trust in God.” This implies that negotiation is acceptable, reasonable and logical for us as advocates of a just cause when the enemy is forced to resort to it, when they come to us ready for negotiation and for paying the price, and to respond to our demands. However, if we seek it desperately and consider it our only option, then we will be the ones paying the price. Those who are forced to negotiate are those who usually pay the price. Hence God Almighty says in another verse: “Do not weaken and call for peace when you have the upper hand.”

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Will there ever be a seat at the negotiating table for Ismail Haniya?

Excluding Hamas from current and future Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations is an exercise in futility, Larbi Sadiki writes

Sidelining Hamas in any process to craft genuine peace between Israelis and Palestinians is a glaring omission tantamount to ignoring an elephant in the room.

Whether it is Obama's or the UN's negotiating room, pretending something of that size absent is an exercise in futility. Hamas is definitely an elephant with many tales. Telling some of these tales recounts the Islamist movement's rise to power against all odds.

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Gazan supporters of Hamas rally to mark Al Quds day and to condemn new Palestinian-Israeli talks launched in Washington. Leaders at the Al Quds day rallies told supporters in Gaza that negotiations with Israel were 'pointless' [AFP]

Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters have rallied in the Gaza Strip to mark Al Quds day and to condemn the direct talks launched in Washington between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Friday's rally comes a day after armed groups said that they had joined forces to step up attacks against Israel, possibly including suicide bombings.

Al Quds day is an annual event on the last Friday of Ramadan, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposing Zionism.

"The negotiations that the Palestinian people have tried for over two decades are pointless negotiations, the Palestinian people never gained anything from them except the loss of their cause and their rights," Ismail Rudwan, a Hamas official, told a large cheering crowd.

"Therefore, we consider that participating in these negotiations is a crime and treason."

Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, held talks sponsored by the US administration in Washington on Thursday.

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GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza Premier Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday that the Palestinian Authority's decision to resume direct negotiations reflects a failed policy and will not succeed.

Speaking at Al-Khulafa Ar-Rashidin mosque in Jabaliya, Haniyeh said that negotiations would not restore rights or religious sites, and said the Palestinian people "should trust God, who will be an ally of the Palestinians."

The Gaza prime minister further said the Palestinian people were a "model for the Arab nations and Islamic countries," given their steadfastness through years of siege.

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Hamas must re-invent itself as a matter of urgency.

When Palestinians elected Hamas, sore losers Fatah set out to cause maximum trouble. The relentless pressures of occupation and bribery succeed in causing internal divisions and self-destruction. When an attempted coup was beaten off there were claims that Hamas "seized control" when it simply acted to enforce its legitimate authority.

By Stuart Littlewood – London

In the five years since I became interested in the conflict in Palestine, only two things of positive note have happened in the Occupied Territories.

The Palestinians held full and fair elections in 2006 to establish themselves as a democracy… and much good it did them.

And in Gaza these amazing people have resolutely survived a vicious land and sea blockade imposed by Israel and aided and abetted by the western powers as soon as those elections put Hamas into government. They have resisted almost daily air strikes and armed intrusions for four years and courageously withstood the cowardly Israeli blitzkrieg of 20 months ago.

And during all that time they have endured unending barbarity and betrayal, which would have brought a lesser nation to its knees. They have come through.

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Palestine is back at the heart of the antiwar movement.

By Andrew Pollack – New York

The United National Antiwar Conference, attended by 850 people from July 23 to 25, 2010 in Albany, New York, marked a sea change in the attitude of the antiwar movement toward Palestine. For the first time a broadly representative, democratic national conference of peace activists adopted the demand "End All US Aid to Israel." UNAC also endorsed the global BDS movement, committed itself to joining Palestine solidarity efforts around future flotillas, emergency responses to Zionist attacks, etc., and expressed its opposition to the US's many-faceted complicity in Zionism's various crimes. All of these positions were adopted in near-unanimous votes and in the face of attempts by a handful of delegates to water down or obstruct them.

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Palestine is very close to hearts and minds of Muslims, but. . .

By Ramzy Baroud

Thousands of faithful assiduously listened as I outlined the challenges facing Palestine and its people. Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God is Great – occasionally resounded from a corner of the giant South African mosque. Many whimpered as I described the tragedy that had befallen Gaza as a result of the Israeli siege. They cheered, smiled and nodded as I emphasized how the will of the Palestinian people would not be defeated. A few older people at the front simply wept throughout my talk, which preceded a Friday sermon in Durban a few months ago.

If passion and kindness were powerful in and of themselves, then the compassion that poured from those Muslim faithful could surely better the world in a myriad ways. The sheer love and concern displayed by men and women of different races, age groups, class affiliation and languages was most uplifting and validating.

As a collective, Palestine and its struggle for freedom and justice is closer to the hearts and minds of Muslims all over the world than any other group I have reached out to. To garner support among Muslims, one is never obligated to make a case, to justify, or to respond to accusations heralded from left and right. Needless to say, Muslim affinity to Palestine is historic, based on Islamic principles articulated in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah (the legacy of Prophet Mohammed).

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Khalid Meshaal

DAMASCUS, (PIC)– Khaled Mishaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, explained Wednesday that his Movement follows firm and well-studied strategy in dealing with the Israeli occupation, the internal Palestinian social fabric, and the international community.

In an interview with the Jordanian Al-Sabeel newspaper, Meshaal said that his Movement doesn’t reject negotiations with the enemy as an option but he explained that the Israeli occupation is an extraordinary condition being a foreign body implanted in Palestinian uprooting millions of Palestinian people out of their homes at gunpoint. Such a situation made negotiation with the Israeli occupation as the only option something unacceptable because it was proven that negotiations without having force to back your stand is a waste of time, he elaborated.

“The Palestinian negotiator now is negotiating with the Israelis, coordinating with them in terms of security, and giving them all what they need for gratis, so what would compel the Israelis in this case to give anything good in return”, Meshaal said stressing that resistance for the Palestinian negotiators must also be a strategic option in order to give strength to their stands.

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Dozens of Palestinians flock to beach in anticipation of aid vessel's arrival. Street in Jabalya named after Turkish flotilla raided by IDF commandos on May 31 to 'commemorate shahidim'

By Ali Waked

It remains unclear whether the Libyan aid ship al-Amal (Arabic word for hope) will eventually dock in Gaza or in Egypt's El-Arish Port, but dozens of Palestinians flocked to the Hamas-ruled territory's beach on Wednesday in anticipation of the vessel's arrival.

In addition, several ships took part in a special flotilla in protest against the Israeli Naval blockade.

The dozens of members of the Popular Committee Against the Siege who arrived at the beach waved the Palestinian and Libyan flags and held posters bearing the images of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his son Saif Al-Islam, whose charity organized and sponsored the aid ship's journey.

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Wall Street Journal

Israeli troops approach a model of a ship representing the Gaza aid flotilla during a demonstration by activists in the West Bank in early June.

Hamas and Hezbollah Find Inspiration In Flotilla, Support Protest Movements

By CHARLES Levinson

JERUSALEM — Hamas and Hezbollah, groups that have long battled Israel with violent tactics, have begun to embrace civil disobedience, protest marches, lawsuits and boycotts—tactics they once dismissed.

For decades, Palestinian statehood aspirations seemed to lurch between negotiations and armed resistance against Israel. But a small cadre of Palestinian activists has long argued that nonviolence, in the tradition of the American civil rights movement, would be far more effective.

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Direct or indirect, Palestinians are telling Washington that no progress can be made in peace talks with Israel, writes Khaled Amayreh in the occupied West Bank

A Palestinian labourer collects gravel at an abandoned airport that was damaged by Israeli airstrikes, in Rafah, Gaza

Apart from the usual pleasantries and reiteration of platitudes, the latest visit to Washington by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas seems to have failed to stir the waters in the American capital.

Abbas pleaded with President Obama to pressure Israel to show more seriousness in the current proximity -- or indirect -- talks with the Palestinians. However, Obama responded by merely reasserting his general commitment to the creation of a viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian state.

He also reiterated his view that "both sides" would have to make sacrifices for peace, which he said was a Palestinian as well as an Israeli interest.

Abbas was unsatisfied by the mere repetition of old platitudes, asserted ad nauseam by successive US presidents in recent years, including George W Bush, but without being translated into facts on the ground. He warned that the two-state solution was becoming difficult if not impossible to realise. He told reporters in Washington that while the creation of a Palestinian state was still "our strategy", many inside and outside the region were reaching the conclusion that the strategy was unworkable.

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Senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil

Hamas has welcomed a proposal by the European Union (EU) to monitor Gaza crossings in a bid to help lift the Israeli-imposed siege on the Palestinian territory.

Hamas "welcomes this proposal in all its aspects," of EU or international presence at Rafah, Ma'an news agency quoted the Palestinian movement's senior official Salah al-Bardawil as saying on Sunday.

Bardawil, however, strongly rejected the idea of Israel policing in the south, stressing that "Israel should not obstruct any convoys or ships coming to the Gaza port."

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Haniyeh: Protect flotilla from Israel Photo: AFP

AFP and Ali Waked

Navy ships to be placed off Gazan shore to intercept flotilla, which was further delayed by Cyprus's refusal to transfer politicians from its territory to boats. Meanwhile Hamas prime minister says Gazans victorious despite 'Israeli piracy'

An aid flotilla bound for Gaza was poised to set sail on Saturday, after a delay caused by technical snags and fears Israel might seize one of the ships, while Hamas's prime minister praised the venture as "a historical victory".

Haniyeh added that if Israel stopped the boats from docking it would only encourage others to come, and called on the international community to protect the flotilla from "Israel's pirate threats".

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) visits a Navy ship north of Israel, the Associated Press photo. The Navy could be called on to block the humanitarian fleet.

The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has condemned Israeli threats against a multinational Gaza-bound aid convoy, Freedom Flotilla.

The fleet, consisting of nine vessels from Turkey, Ireland, Britain and Greece, is on its way to break the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip. It carries around 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies, as well as around 750 activists.

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BETHLEHEM – Ma'an News – Hamas issued a statement on Saturday marking Nakba Day, describing the movement's adherence to "the project of resistance and steadfastness."

"As long as the enemy continues with its offensives against our people, continues arrest our children and desecrating our holy places, resistance will remain an option," the statement read.

Speaking of the right of return of Palestinian refugees displaced during both 1948 and 1967, the Islamist movement said it remained adamant that "the right of return for refugees to their home cities and villages which they were expelled from is a collective and an individual right, natural and legitimate. It cannot be removed by the occupation nor canceled by any agreement."

The Islamist movement criticized the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership for re-entering US-brokered indirect talks with Israel, describing the move as "absurd" and demanding that "the Oslo team be honest with the Palestinians about the failure of the negotiations' option."

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GAZA – Ma’an News – Nakba Day has united major factions in Gaza, including Fatah and Hamas, as Palestinians marked the 62nd anniversary of mass forced displacement from their homes by pre-state Israeli militia in 1948.

Protesters marched from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the UN building in Gaza City to affirm their right to return, participants said, referring to the estimated 750,000 Palestinians who were expelled or fled from Palestine during the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Fayez Abu Aita, a Fatah leader, said “the message today is a message of national unity in facing the Israeli occupation.” He added that the political split is an unusual situation which should end as it is not possible to return the homeland without national unity.

Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader, said “national unity is the way to preserve the right of return … The right of return will be achieved through resistance -- not negotiations.” He called on the Palestinians to unite and refuse calls to sacrifice the right of return.

Ramzi Rabbah, a member of the political bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that “on this day, we hold fast to Palestinian rights,” and called to escalate all forms of political resistance to restore the Palestinian rights.

Muhammad Al-Hindi, member of the political bureau of Islamic Jihad, said that “today is the day of national unity; the Nakba unites us in the very same way that the prisoners’ cause unites us. ... Today is the beginning of more national unity.”

“All the Palestinian factions are here to say that we are holding onto Palestine, all of Palestine,” Al-Hindi added.

Thousands of Palestinians joined rallies and demonstrations in the West Bank, Gaza and the diaspora refugee camps to demand for their right of return to their homes and lands, rejecting what gatherers called "conspiracies" aimed at depriving them of their right.

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Ahmed Youssef, former political adviser of de facto Prime Minister Ismail

GAZA – Hamas officials insisted on Tuesday that letters sent to US President Barack Obama contained nothing but the movement's official stance on ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Repeating earlier statements by spokesman Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, de facto government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs undersecretary Ahmad Yousef told Ma'an that the letters detailed Hamas' stance on the return of Palestinian refugees, the declaration of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders and the need for the US administration to take practical measures to end the siege on Gaza.

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GAZA – De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday that a Fatah delegation would soon arrive in Gaza, affirming that contacts with the rival movement were ongoing.

Speaking at a ceremony at the office of the de facto ministerial council to honor media organizations working in Gaza, he applauded recent remarks by Turkish officials urging an end to the siege of Gaza.

“We view Turkey's support to the Palestinians, and its continued affirmations of the necessity to end the siege imposed upon Gaza, with huge relief,” the Hamas prime minister noted.

"When US President Barack Obama was elected, there was an atmosphere of optimism in the region, but US policy has exhibited no positive sign, but rather adopted the Israeli vision, and is pressuring the Palestinian Authority to return to negotiations," he added.

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GAZA – The Hamas government internal security officials asked Gaza residents to beware of phone calls from Israeli intel collectors attempting to "trick" citizens into revealing data on locations inside the Strip.

Sub-department director Abu Abdullah said citizens had reported a series of phone calls, some from unidentified callers and others from individuals claiming to be Israeli intelligence officers.

In either case, Abu Abdullah said, the Israeli callers tell citizens "they want to check up on the situation in Gaza, and ask questions that trick citizens into cooperating with apparent investigations."

One young man received a call inquiring about the humanitarian situation in the strip in light of the ongoing power cuts, Abu Abdullah said.

He advised residents to disconnect immediately when they discover that the caller is an Israeli intelligence officer, of if they suspect the same.

"The occupation has begun to turn to internet and phone lines, a common trick, in the recruitment of Palestinian citizens who willingly or not become collaborators," the officials said.

De facto government security departments were working on overcoming what he described as security breaches like the phone calls, and were receiving tips on men and women who had given information to the phone callers.

One young man received a call inquiring about the humanitarian situation in the strip in light of the ongoing power cuts, Abu Abdullah said.

He advised residents to disconnect immediately when they discover that the caller is an Israeli intelligence officer, of if they suspect the same.

"The occupation has begun to turn to internet and phone lines, a common trick, in the recruitment of Palestinian citizens who willingly or not become collaborators," the officials said.

De facto government security departments were working on overcoming what he described as security breaches like the phone calls, and were receiving tips on men and women who had given information to the phone callers.

Maan News

Unpopular with some human rights organisations, the execution of Israeli collaborators in Gaza highlights how deep Israel's intelligence war goes, writes Saleh Al-Naami

For six years, the killing of Amr Abu Setta, one of the leaders of a Palestinian resistance group in southern Gaza, remained a mystery. While there were many tales about how he died, there was consensus that Israeli intelligence was in one way or another behind his murder. The Israeli army accused him of being responsible for the deaths of a large number of occupation soldiers. A few months ago, the mystery was solved.

It became apparent that the person who placed the explosives under Abu Setta's car is Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed Ismail, a Palestinian working for Israeli intelligence. Ismail detonated the explosives via remote control upon orders from Israeli intelligence, killing Abu Setta and one of his aides. Ismail used his connections with some people in Abu Setta's circle to place the explosives that ended the life of this highly respected leader in Gaza. Ismail confessed to his involvement and received a death sentence from the military court in Gaza. He was executed 15 April.

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Dr. Ahmed Yousef, the Deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza.

By Dr. Ahmed Yousef – Gaza

January 2010 marks the 4th anniversary of Hamas in the government following its democratic victory in the 2006 Parliamentary election and the formation of its government in March of the same year. This year is also special because it also marks the fourth year of Hamas’ successful transition to a political party, despite the trials and tribulations faced and imposed by certain members of the international community that attempted to see Hamas toppled and to thwart Palestinian democracy.

Hamas was ambitious in achieving its Platform of Change and Reform; a platform that called for an end to government corruption and transparency and participation of all political parties in governance. As may be recalled, many of the candidates that ran and won on the Change and Reform platform, at both the local and national level, were Palestinians of all walks of life that held diverse political views and affiliations. The 2006 election results were truly a signal and beacon of the Palestinian call for change and reform of the governance and policies of the past. The call for change and reform was impeded by external interference in internal matters that resulted in the dispersion of Hamas’ efforts for reform, culminating in lateral disputes with political opponents, particularly the Fatah movement.

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Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has scoffed at the blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying walls cannot force Palestinians to submit to external control.

"Gaza is surrounded on three sides; north, east, and south; to make it raise a white flag," Haniyeh said on Monday, insisting that Egypt's underground wall will fail to produce Cairo's desired effect. "The escalation of the blockade and the siege is aimed at toppling the (Hamas) government and bringing the Palestinians to their knees," he added.

The Gaza Strip has long been under siege by the Israelis, who have closed all Gaza crossings, preventing donated food and other basic needs into the area, which is home to some 1.5 million Palestinians.

The only border terminal not controlled by Tel Aviv is the southern Rafah crossing which is closed by the Egyptian government. Cairo also launches regular attacks on the Palestinians' cross-border tunnel network in the area, filling the "food and energy vessels" with gas and water.

Late last year, the Israeli daily Haaretz revealed Egypt was constructing a subterranean steel wall to stem the flow of goods into the coastal enclave.

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Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Fatah leader Nabil Sha’ath

By Khalid Amayreh in Ramallah

The recent visit to the Gaza Strip by Fatah leader Nabil Sha’ath should be a welcome first step toward Palestinian national reconciliation.

Unlike many Fatah fanatics, who openly advocate an unending war on Hamas, Sha’ath has repeatedly displayed a great deal of moderation vis-à-vis Hamas, refusing to view the Islamic liberation movement as “the enemy” as many of the anti-Islamist elements within Fatah have been insisting.

To his credit, the veteran Fatah leader never harbored any illusions as to boundaries between inter-Palestinian troubles, such as the rift between Fatah and Hamas, and the fundamental conflict between the Palestinian people and Israel .

Unfortunately, it is these boundaries that some high-ranking Palestinian Authority (PA) operatives have sought to blur and obliterate in the service of Israel.

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Hamas has denounced the Palestinian Authority for the participation of the caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an Israeli conference.

Fayyad addressed Israel's 10th annual Herzilya conference on Tuesday, following remarks by Tel Aviv's Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

"The Palestinian Authority's cooperation with Israel reached a political level and this is a serious indicator that this national side has connected its projects with Israeli interests and policies," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

The conference, organized by the Strategic Studies Institute, is held annually in Israel and contributes to decisions on Israeli policy and strategy relating to security and politics.

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GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian government in Gaza submitted its official response to the office of the high commissioner for human rights regarding the recommendations of Goldstone report.

This came during a meeting between minister of justice Faraj Al-Ghoul and director of OHCHR in Gaza Curt Goering.

Minister Ghoul said that the government took many serious measures to implement its obligations toward the report such as the formation of a governmental committee to follow up the implementation of the recommendations mentioned in the report.

It also referred to the formation of an independent committee composed of international law experts in order to ensure the transparency and integrity of the actions taken.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en

Dr. Azizi Duweik, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council

By Khalid Amayreh

Recent statements by Palestinian Islamic leader Professor Aziz Duweik about the possibility of amending or even abandoning some clauses in Hamas’s charter have elicited a plethora of reactions in occupied Palestine and abroad. Some hostile groups have been quick to conclude that Hamas is now willing to recognize the legitimacy of Israel. Moreover, PA propaganda organs have deliberately twisted Duweik’s remarks, claiming that Hamas is finally following the footsteps of the PLO.

Well, the truth is that none of this is true since sidestepping or even abandoning the so-called “Hamas charter” should never be confused with the Islamic liberation movement’s principled stance on the Zionist entity.

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On the anniversary of the end of Israel's war on Gaza, Head of Hamas political bureau Khaled Meshaal says Palestinians will never back down from resisting the Israeli occupation.

on Friday, Meshaal highlighted national unity, solidarity among the Muslim community and faith in God as key to what brought about victory for Gazans.

Speaking to a large crowd of supporters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Meshaal saluted the over 1,400 Palestinians who lost their lives during the three-week long Israeli onslaught and tens of thousands of others who were wounded and displaced.

Meshaal acknowledged the Israeli upper hand in military prowess, but assured that Tel Aviv would never be able to defeat the Palestinian nation and their resistance, vowing to fight a fierce battle and defeat Israel, in the event of another war against the Gaza Strip.

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PETER O. ZIERLEIN

By Fawaz A. Gerges

This article appeared in the January 25, 2010 edition of The Nation.
January 7, 2010

Something is stirring within the Hamas body politic, a moderating trend that, if nourished and engaged, could transform Palestinian politics and the Arab-Israeli peace process. There are unmistakable signs that the religiously based radical movement has subtly changed its uncompromising posture on Israel. Although low-key and restrained, those shifts indicate that the movement is searching for a formula that addresses the concerns of Western powers yet avoids alienating its social base.

Far from impulsive and unexpected, Hamas's shift reflects a gradual evolution occurring over the past five years. The big strategic turn occurred in 2005, when Hamas decided to participate in the January 2006 legislative elections and thus tacitly accepted the governing rules of the Palestinian Authority (PA), one of which includes recognition of Israel. Ever since, top Hamas leaders have repeatedly declared they will accept a resolution of the conflict along the 1967 borders. The Damascus-based Khaled Meshal, head of Hamas's political bureau and considered a hardliner, acknowledged as much in 2008. "We are realists," he said, who recognize that there is "an entity called Israel." Pressed by an Australian journalist on policy changes Hamas might make, Meshal asserted that the organization has shifted on several key points: "Hamas has already changed--we accepted the national accords for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, and we took part in the 2006 Palestinian elections."

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Abbas does not want a second term in office due to frustrations with Israel and the US

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has extended the mandates of both president Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas-dominated parliament until new elections are held.

The decision was made by PLO's Central Council at a meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday.

Qaid al-Ghul, a PLO representative said: "The PLO took the decision that president Abbas and the Legislative Council will continue their duties until the next election in accordance with the Basic Law."

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GAZA, (PIC)-- The Movement of Hamas stated Tuesday that Mahmoud Abbas’s speech before the central council of the Palestine liberation organization (PLO) is an attempt to pave the way for his return to the frivolous negotiations with the Israeli occupation.

In a press statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC), Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Abbas’s speech included many points that need clarification especially his allegation about his adherence to the Palestinian constants.

Spokesman Abu Zuhri refuted this allegation, saying that Abbas publicly recognized the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, which means a waiver of 80 percent of the occupied Palestinian land, and renounced the right of return when he talked about his approval to a just solution agreed upon in this regard with Israel.

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GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas described the Israeli draft law binding any government to go to referendum before agreeing to withdraw from Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights as a referendum on something that it does not own.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said in a press release on Thursday that such a measure clearly displays Zionist arrogance in its worst form and violates the Palestinian and Arab rights other than international laws.

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De facto government security forces [MaanImages]

GAZA – Israel’s supposed plan to continue the siege of Gaza even if its soldier is released is a continuation of the country’s offensive against the Palestinian people, a Hamas official said Saturday.

The comments, made by Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, followed Israeli media reports quoting officials close to the swap negotiations saying a prisoner exchange would not mean an end to Israel’s three-year blockade.

Abu Zuhri noted that there were “parties inside the movement that will study [the development] and evaluate” the Islamic movement’s response. Although an end to the siege has not been a condition of the soldier’s release, Israel tightened the blockade of Gaza following his capture, and many inside Gaza reasoned that a release would bring an ease to the closure.

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Any political decision must include Fateh and Hamas, refugees and exiles.

By Ghada Karmi

Palestinian history is at one of its most serious and important junctures. The peace negotiations that commenced with the Oslo accords in 1993 are at an end. Even hardened devotees of the peace process with Israel have now given up and are adopting positions that threaten to disrupt the cozy status quo of the "peace process". The Palestinian president's announcement that he will not seek re-election, and the recent demand for UN recognition of a Palestine state on the 1967 territories are examples of this trend. It has become impossible for even the most pliant Palestinian leadership to ignore Israel's strategy of "talking and taking", its relentless colonization of the occupied territories, which doubled after the Oslo agreement and is ever more blatant and aggressive. The Palestinian maneuver, taking advantage of an assumed US frustration with Israeli intransigence on settlement building, is clearly designed to challenge the international community out of its inertia.

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Hamas announced Wednesday that it was postponing continued negotiations on the release of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit until after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which ends on Monday. The Hamas announcement was issued in Damascus following meetings between Khaled Mashaal, the organization's politburo Chief there, and a delegation of senior Hamas representatives from Gaza.

The statement is not a negative answer to the compromise deal proposed by the German mediator, but it does dash Israeli hopes for reaching a quick agreement by the end of this week.

Senior Hamas officials told the Al-Arabiya TV network Wednesday that the talks between Hamas and Israel hit a snag over some of the Palestinian detainees the Islamic resistance group wants freed in return for Shalit, including Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sa'adat. Israel is also objecting to freeing Israeli Arab detainees, said the Hamas officials.

A senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, Khalil Al-Haya, accused Israel of holding up negotiations. "The government of the Zionist entity has not met the demands of the organizations holding Shalit," he said. He did not say that the deal had been torpedoed or had failed, though he did say Israel was responsible for the delay in reaching a deal.

The American station Fox News reported that Hamas is also demanding that Israel commit to not harming the freed detainees in the future.

The Israeli security cabinet met Wednesday in occupied Jerusalem, but discussed the freezing of construction in the settlements. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked ministers to keep completely silent in the media on the Shalit deal.

The deal will have a number of components in addition to the prisoner release. Hamas is expecting the economic blockade on Gaza to be eased and a partial opening of the crossings into Israel and Egypt.

At the same time the United States is pressuring Netanyahu to make a number of significant good will acts on the behalf of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose regime is expected to suffer as the prisoner release is being attributed to Hamas. The freeze on construction in West Bank settlements is considered one of these acts.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Barghouti said he hopes to be freed as part of the Shalit deal, and intends to run for president in Palestinian elections. He said maybe now Israel will understand that it cannot ignore Hamas' demands. He added that the most important issue at hand is peace between Fatah and Hamas.

Hamas has long stated that Barghouti is among the detainees it wants released by Israel. Seen as a potential successor to Abbas, Barghouti was sentenced in 2004 to five life terms. "We are confident that Marwan will be part of the deal," said Khader Shkirat, one of his lawyers, who said he had visited Barghouti yesterday. Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said on Monday that Barghouti would not be swapped.

Among the other prisoners Israel refuses to release, reported the Egyptian newspaper Al-Hayat, are Ibrahim Hamed, the former commander of Hamas' military wing and the mastermind behind the 2002 bombing at Moment cafe in occupied Jerusalem; Abdullah Barghouti, a relative of Marwan Barghouti, and another mastermind of the Moment attack as well as attacks at Sbarro pizza parlor in occupied Jerusalem and on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv. Other reports say Israel also refused to release Abbas Al-Sayyed, who planned the Passover Seder night bombing of the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=112902&language=en

GAZA, (PIC)-- Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan stated Sunday that US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s remarks on the need to resume Palestinian negotiations with Israel without asking it in advance to halt settlement expansion dealt a heavy blow to Mahmoud Abbas and his negotiators.

Radwan added that this American stand proved the credibility of the position voiced many times by Hamas that these frivolous negotiations would lead to more Palestinian concessions, vulnerability and begging at American tables.

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The Hamas-run interior ministry in the Gaza Strip has ordered Palestinians in the territory not to take part in elections called by Mahmoud Abbas, the West Bank-based president.

Abbas issued a decree announcing that presidential and parliamentary polls would take place on January 24, but an interior ministry statement on Wednesday said the elections had been called "by figures who do not have the right to declare it".

Ehab Al-Ghsain, a Hamas interior ministry spokesman, said that Gazan officials had been instructed not to co-operate with Abbas's efforts to stage the vote.

"Any preparations, any committees, any collecting of names will be regarded as an illegal action that we will pursue," he said.

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[MaanImages]

GAZA - There is nothing wrong with talking to the United States, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told American delegates on a medical mission in Gaza on Wednesday.

Hamas welcomes the new language of US President Barack Obama, Haniyeh added, but noted the administration must implement its plans so the Palestinian people can establish their state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Haniyeh, during an American medical delegation visit on Wednesday, stressed that Hamas is with the real fair peace which will bring for the Palestinian people their rights and will end the occupation.

"I am convinced of the fairness of the rules of democracy, pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power in Palestine," he told the delegation, but noted the punishment the Palestinian people received when they fairly elected Hamas in 2006.

The United States has the ability to bring peace to the region, Haniyeh said, and we have no issues with the Americans, but we ask them to back up their pledges.

Haniyeh welcomed the delegation in Gaza thanking them for their humanitarian and social services. He also added that the visit had a special meaning, and showed support from the American people for Gazans and their rejection of the Israeli siege.

Maan News

The political collapse underway has put Hamas, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in a bind. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages)

By Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada

The uproar over the Palestinian Authority's (PA) collaboration with Israel to bury the Goldstone report, calling for trials of Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza, is a political earthquake. The whole political order in place since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed is crumbling. As the initial tremors begin to fade, the same old political structures may appear still to be in place, but they are hollowed out. This unprecedented crisis threatens to topple the US-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, but it also leaves Hamas, the main Palestinian resistance faction, struggling with fateful choices.

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CAIRO -- Hamas' senior-most political leader Khalid Mash’al sounded a hopeful note on Palestinian unity on Monday, saying that Egypt aims to seal a deal next month.

Mash'al said that Egyptian mediators are inviting all the political factions to a summit where they hope a unity agreement will be signed.

Mash’al, who lives in exile in Damascus, was speaking at a Cairo news conference after meeting with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Sulaiman.

"It was an extremely positive meeting and we discussed various and basic aspects regarding reconciliation," Mesh’al said of the talks. "We tackled many issues pertaining to this proposal and we think this proposal is a good basis to achieve Palestinian reconciliation."

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New Statesman

In a world exclusive, Ken Livingstone discusses religion, violence and the chances for peace with the Hamas leader Khaled Meshal

The key to peace in the Middle East is restoration of international law and the recognition of the right of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews to live in peace and security side by side. As President Obama says, there is no peace process today. Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, continues to extend illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and maintain a near-complete blockade of Gaza. Palestinians fire ineffectual rockets into Israel. Israel regularly attacks Palestinian territories with modern weapons.

No major conflict can be resolved without each side talking to the other. That was the case in South Africa, Ireland and countless other situations where people said they would never talk to their opponents. I was vilified in the Eighties for saying that, to resolve the Irish conflict, you had to talk to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

In the Middle East, peace can only be achieved through discussion between the elected representatives of both the Israelis and the Palestinians - and that means Hamas, which won a big majority in the last Palestinian parliamentary election, as well as Fatah. This does not mean that I agree with the views of Hamas, Fatah or the government of Israel. Far from it: I do not. For example, I think a number of passages in the original Hamas charter are unacceptable and should be repudiated. Many observers believe that this is also the view of some in Hamas.

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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh votes [MaanImages]

GAZA – Ma'an – De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh extended an offer of unity to the Fatah movement, urging his rivals to forget the past.

“I am telling Fatah to turn a new page and forget about what happened in the past and start a new Palestinian stage. I am calling for reconciliation and solutions for a positive result in the dialogue,” the Hamas leader said.

“Palestinians have no other choice; they have to sit for the dialogue,” he said, referring to the currently dormant Egyptian-mediated unity negotiations.

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Desmond Tutu [MaanImages]

RAMALLAH - Israel and other parties have no choice but to talk to Hamas, South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

"You don't make peace with friends," he told Ma'an in Ramallah. "You negotiate with those who are regarded as pariahs."

Tutu was in the West Bank on Wednesday for the final leg of a delegation visit by the Elders, a group of world leaders brought together in 2007 by his anti-apartheid comrade Nelson Mandela, the former South African president and activist.

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The Palestinian people's choice: Stick to their guns or watch their homeland evaporate.

By Terrell E. Arnold

In late 2005, the Bush administration, along with the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon, promoted parliamentary elections in Palestine. The goal, obvious if unstated, was to provide a popular credential for the government that would be run by the expected to be victorious candidates, members of the Fatah party of Mahmoud Abbas. Since Abbas had won with a decisive 62% of the votes in a January 2005 election to succeed the late Yasser Arafat, the parliamentary election of January 2006 looked like a slam dunk. Hamas, participating for the first time in a national election, along with five or six small parties stood against Fatah. The results, however, surprised most observers by giving the parliamentary majority to Hamas. Fatah won only 45 seats in the new parliament, while Hamas won an absolute majority of 74 in the 132 seat assembly.

Various pundits agonized over why this occurred. The conventional wisdom was that, after all, Hamas was nothing but a terrorist group. It had no political experience and ran no candidates of known political caliber on the Palestinian scene. As often happens with conventional wisdom, however, this batch was false.

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Haniyeh [MaanImages]

GAZA – If senior figures within Fatah are accusing their own party of elections violations, what would happen if we held national elections, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wondered out loud during Friday prayers in Gaza City.

Before any elections take place, he said, we must make sure they will be free and fair, and a healthy atmosphere must prevail before Palestinians go to the ballot boxes.

Haniyeh said those who accused him of blackmail or intentional corruption of the Sixth Fatah Congress in Bethlehem were mistaken, and noted “We allowed to all members of the Fatah conference to participate in voting without interference.”

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Hamas appears as softening to the West, but its flexibility will mean nothing unless the West -- particularly the US -- can rein in Israel, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Ahmed Youssef, under-secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hamas government in Gaza and the former political advisor to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, is continually receiving European delegations these days. Youssef, who spent most of his life in Washington as one of the directors of a research centre for Palestinian issues, is one of the most important links between the Hamas government and European and American elites. Congress members, former directors of NGOs, academics and peace activists from Europe and the United States are permanent guests in Youssef's office, which is now located in a residential tower after his old office in the Foreign Ministry was blown up by an Israeli F-15 during the recent war on Gaza. Most of the informal European delegations are keen to meet with Haniyeh and his ministers, and Hamas's deputy in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

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Related: Hamas: The key to peace is justice for Palestinians
Preventive Security carries out assassination attempt on Sheikh Beitawi
ICHR Denounces Attack on Sheikh Hamed al Beitawi, PLC Member

NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Palestinian Legislative Council member, Sheikh Hamed al-Beitawi, said that political arrests in the West Bank have been taking place for the past two years, pointing out that the matter was not limited to detention but also systematic torture.

Beitawi said, during an interview with PIC, that when Hamas asked for the release of political detainees before it allows Fatah members to leave the Gaza Strip to attend the Fatah conference, it was making a legitimate demand and it was regretful that the Ramallah authority and its security apparatuses refused to respond positively.

With regard to the threats made by some Fatah leaders that Hamas leaders in the West Bank will be targeted, Beitawi said with confidence, that they have no fears in this regard as nothing could happen to anyone except with God's will, stressing that all political detainees in the West Bank should be released.

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GAZA -- Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya has emphasized that all Israeli occupation authority (IOA) efforts to judaize occupied Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque would not succeed in changing the Palestinian identity of the city and the holy shrine.

He told a march for the Palestinian professional syndicates that their demonstration despite the siege on Gaza indicated that they would never give up Jerusalem or any of the Palestinian constants.

Haneyya renewed pledge not to forsake Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque or any part of the Palestinian land regardless of crises and ordeals.

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