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Hamas rejects recognition of Israel despite pressure
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-05 11:03
Islamist militant group Hamas rejected Russian appeals for it to recognize
Israel or disband its armed wing, senior leaders of the group said on Saturday.
Palestinian Hamas
leader Khaled Meshaal listens to a question during a meeting with Muslim
society at a Moscow mosque, March 4, 2006.
[Reuters] | The Moscow visit is the first to a major
foreign power by leaders of Hamas, who are forming a Palestinian government in
the wake of a landslide win in Palestinian parliamentary elections on January
25.
Hamas is hoping to gain a measure of international standing from the three
days of talks, opposed by Israel and the United States.
The Hamas charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Both
Washington and the European Union have branded Hamas a terrorist organization.
But it is popular among Palestinians for charitable works and has a reputation
for freedom from corruption.
Hamas deputy political leader Moussa Abu Marzouk told Reuters in an interview
that recognizing Israel would negate all Palestinian rights.
"It means a negation of the Palestinian people and their rights and their
property, of Jerusalem and the holy sites, as well as negation of their right of
return. Therefore the recognition of Israel is not on the agenda," Abu Marzouk
said.
"We believe that Israel has no right to exist," he added later in remarks to
an Arab audience. "Hamas will never take such a step."
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Hamas delegation it
must recognize Israel's right to exist and abide by interim peace deals, echoing
demands made by the United States, the European Union and United Nations.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said Saturday he had rejected a bid from Lavrov
for Hamas to disband its armed wing and integrate the gunmen into the general
Palestinian police force.
"We have made clear to the officials in Russia that the armed wing (of Hamas)
will have no role in the internal situation, and will resist the occupation and
defend the whole land," Meshaal said.
DRAW A MAP
Abu Marzouk, who is part of the Hamas delegation in Moscow, blasted previous
Palestinian accords with Israel and said they did not define the Jewish state's
borders.
"I gave the Russian officials a white sheet and I asked them to draw me a map
of the Israel they want me to recognize and nobody was able to draw the map," he
said.
"Therefore how would you want me to recognize something that is so dangerous
to the future of the Palestinian people."
Hamas is in the middle of forming a government and expects to name a cabinet
within weeks.
Israel says it will not negotiate with a government led by Hamas, which has
carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis since a Palestinian
uprising erupted in 2000. Hamas has said talks with Israel would be a waste of
time.
Abu Marzouk said the Moscow visit had achieved important results for Hamas,
including "breaking the wall of siege" imposed by the United States and Europe
since its election win.
"While this collapse in the siege was done in public, there are several
countries of the European Union that are secretly holding contacts with Hamas in
one way or another," he said without elaborating.
Even before its first meetings on Friday with senior Russian officials in
Moscow, Hamas dimmed hopes of a breakthrough by saying it was firm in its
refusal to recognize Israel.
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