Saturday, January 5, 2008

Mishaal: Our people has no other option but to resist occupation


"DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- Khaled Mishaal, the chairman of Hamas's political bureau, has affirmed that the Palestinian people had no other option but to resist occupation, revealing that he refused a European offer to mediate truce with Israel.

Mishaal, in an address at a Hamas rally organized to commemorate it 20th anniversary held in the Syrian capital on Friday, went through the stages of Hamas's anti-occupation struggle.

He affirmed that Hamas shifted the struggle against Israel into the occupied homeland, adding that Hamas would pursue the path of resistance until liberation of Palestine.

The Hamas leader categorically rejected claims that his Movement had conducted negotiations with Israel, revealing that a European country had offered to mediate truce between Hamas and Israel.

He explained that the European country, which he did not name, had offered to invite both parties to its lands and host indirect negotiations between his Movement and Israel but the Hamas leadership absolutely refused the offer.

Mishaal also asserted that the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit would not be freed unless the Israeli occupation government met the conditions set by his captors for his release.

The Hamas leader further called on all Palestinian factions to initiate unconditional dialogue in order to end the current Palestinian political deadlock and to restore cohesion to the Palestinian national lines.

He denounced Ramallah government's practices in the West Bank in coordination with the IOF, affirming that Salam Fayyad's illegitimate government had turned into a tool that carries out IOA policies.

Mishaal called on PA chief Mahmoud Abbas to discharge the government of Fayyad.

He refused to describe what happed in Gaza seven months ago as a "coup", and refused to apologize over what happened as demanded by Abbas. He explained, "We are the legitimacy, so how can we topple ourselves?!"

He demanded formation of a neutral third party committee to determine what was responsible for the events in Gaza, and announced readiness to accept the findings of this committee. He recalled that the PA leadership had refused to deal with the Arab League fact-finding committee over the Gaza incidents.

Shifting to the issue of early elections, he said, "Let us sit at the negotiating table and anything would be then tabled for discussion including early elections".

Mishaal lashed out at the PA negotiations with the Israeli occupation, saying that over many years of talks they could not remove one barrier off the West Bank roads but on the contrary the IOA continued construction of more settlements and continued aggressions."

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