Following are excerpts from statements by Khalid Meshaal on a two state peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, Hamas recognition of Israel, the use of violence, and the question of a Hamas-Fatah Palestinian unity government.  Meshaal made these statements between the end of the civil war in Gaza on June 15, 2007 through June, 2009. Also included are recent statements by Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Gaza. Both Meshaal and Haniyeh give interviews in Arabic and all statements herein are translations by media sources. (Jonathan H. van Melle, FMEP intern).

Statements by Khaled Meshaal, Head of the Hamas Politburo in Damascus, July, 2007-June, 2009

July 5, 2007

“’We could not be clearer: Hamas will not accept nor tolerate anyone exploiting the sacred cause of the Palestinian people to commit acts of murder and carnage around the world. Our strategy has always been and remains firmly based on the principle that the resistance should be fought only within Palestine’.”

 (“A time for joy and reflection,” by Khaled Mish’al, The Guardian.co.uk, July 5, 2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/jul/05/israel.comment)

December 15, 2007

“’Hamas offered to all mediators in the inter-Palestinian dialogue a detailed project of nine points including: stressing that the west Bank and Gaza are geographically unified, a unified Palestinian Authority and government, respecting all authorities (the presidential and legislative authorities), respecting law and law enforcement, respecting rules of democracy, respecting references of the Cairo Agreement, National Accord document, Mecca agreement, and the agreement on forming a national unity government’….’We will never accept a return to any security mess. The Gaza people don’t accept any return to chaos’.”

(Qtd. in “Mashaal: Ready to Hand Palestinian Presidential Premises Only After National Accord, National Security,” Ikhwanweb.com, December 15, 2007, http://www.ikhwanweb.org/Article.asp?ID=14874&SectionID=0)

March 8-9, 2008         

“’Hamas’s priority today is liberating the nation; expelling the occupation; ending Palestinian suffering; and achieving the right of genuine self-determination on the land. These are the priorities today, which intersect with those of all our partners in the Palestinian arena, whether Fatah, the PFLP or the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, or any other independent faction, as well as the Palestinian elites and masses inside and outside.

Our current priority is not to determine the nature of the state we will establish. I don’t want to repeat the mistake made by the PLO, which began discussing statehood without possessing sovereignty, without control over any of the land, and so on. The state that was declared in Algiers in 1988 existed only in the air, as a political expression to boost morale. Similarly, some are discussing a state today even though they possess no sovereignty on the ground. The Palestine Authority’s prerogatives are confined to autonomy [sultat hukm dhati], without sovereignty.

For these reasons we do not favor discussing the nature of the state at the present time. Once the occupation is ended and sovereignty on the ground is achieved, the state will be established, and in that phase, collectively as Palestinians, we will discuss and determine the state’s identity in keeping with the rules of democracy. We do not, and will not, compel people to accept anything. First, because we don’t have the right to do so, and second, because it is not in our nature to do so. There is democracy and the ballot box, which will produce a majority that, acting in partnership with others, will determine the identity of this state through proper constitutional institutions according to procedures observed in any other state in Asia, Africa, Europe, or the Americas. At this point it is enough to say that any state should be governed through reconciliation with its own people, its nation, its roots, and its civilization. It should be a state that is open to the world, far from fanaticism, and one that promotes tolerance and accepts all’.”

“’The views I am expressing are not the ideas of Khalid Mishal but the principles of Hamas. Certainly Hamas is a very large movement, and within it you can find a range of voices and concepts this is part of our diversity. Nevertheless, the views I am expressing are those that have been formally adopted by the organization, its leadership, and its institutions, and it is by these positions that we should be judged. Have mistakes and excesses been committed here and there? Yes, of course, as occurs in any large movement whose membership includes fringes on the extreme left and right. But what I described above is the fundamental, official position of Hamas’.”

“’Some account should be taken of extreme pressures on the ground in terms of the Israeli occupation and military incursions, not to mention the economic boycott and siege, combined with the deprivation of rights to the point that the will of the people as expressed in democratic elections has been rejected, with attempts made to overturn the electoral results. Such a situation can occasionally push people to give priority to self-preservation. Such a situation can produce errors and excesses. But this is a reaction, an attempt at self-defense in the face of attack. Oppression and abuse always produce counter-reactions, which can be extreme and which we do not desire. What we want is to reinforce the culture of tolerance and centrism [wasatiyya]. In point of fact, the guiding principle that we as a Palestinian Islamic movement have adopted since our foundation until today is centrism, not fanaticism or extremism. Our political and religious culture is centrism. This does not mean that we do not have people who on occasion act beyond these principles, but these are individual cases. And sometimes it is the environment of constant pressure that produces such incidents. Our desire as a movement is that the Palestinian arena be one of freedom, of peaceful transfers of authority, of respect for the rules of democracy and the results of elections, and of prohibiting anyone from exercising dictatorship or imposing foreign intervention upon us’”

(Qtd. in “Khalid Mishal: The Making of a Palestinian Islamic Leader,” by Mouin Rabbani Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol 37, no. 3 (Spring 2008), March 8-9, 2009 http://www.palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=9980&jid=1&href=fulltext).  

March, 31, 2008

“’Why should only Arabs put their weapons away and beg Israel and the international community?’…’Look at the Israel situation now. The Palestinian resistance forced the Israeli’s to withdraw from Gaza. Also, the Lebanese resistance forced Israel to withdraw from Southern Lebanon. Only resistance could force the occupation to withdraw’.”

“’The road to peace was not fruitful as has been proven. Israel has no other choice than to deal positively with Arab initiatives. We have nothing left to do except fight. Even if we only have primitive weapons’.”

“’We do not brainwash anyone. Every Palestinian spontaneously feels that his land is occupied. That Israel is killing children and women, demolishing their homes, taking their land, building the wall, the settlements, that journalism favors Israel, and digging under the al Aqsa mosque. So the Palestinian finds himself going directly to fight for the resistance. This is his duty. As the French fought the Nazis, and in the American revolution, as the Vietnamese people fought, as did the South African. This is ordinary behavior it [is not] brainwashing.”

“’We don’t kill anyone deliberately. The suicide bombings began after Israel killed people at the Hebron mosque in 1994. Israel killed during prayers in the Mosque and as an ordinary reaction the Palestinian people started defending themselves. As a response to the Israeli crimes. I want to tell you there was no suicide bombing before in Israel. Why did Israel not stop their occupation? You will notice that two weeks ago Israel killed many children and yet there was no response from the international community. But any Palestinian behavior is condemned by the international community. This is a kind of hypocrisy. It’s a kind of weakness in the international community. This is a kind of duplicity. Is it fair’?”

“’We renew our offer to Israel to let the civilian people from the two sides be free from our conflict. Israel should respond to this offer. This is an offer which we would like to renew. The problem is on the Israel side’.”

“The rockets are an ordinary reaction towards the Israeli occupation and their Apache Helicopters and F 16 jets. We didn’t attack a kindergarten. We have primitive weapons. I ask the international community and the Americans to give us more advanced weapons so we can shoot more accurately’.”

“’We invite Mr. Mahmoud Abbas to come to Gaza to talk directly without any conditions. To work together to find a solution to the problems in Gaza and the West Bank. To get back our Palestinian union and find the reasons for our problems and to solve the security problem’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas Leader Talks Exclusively To Sky,” Skynews, March 31, 2008, http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/20080641311185).

April 21, 2008

“’We agree on the [Palestinian] state with the borders of June 4, 1967, Jerusalem as its capital, fully sovereign without settlements, the right of return, but without the recognition of Israel’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas: No plan to recognize Israel,” CNN.com, April 21, 2008, http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/21/carter.hamas/index.html).

January 6, 2009

“We expressed our readiness for a new comprehensive truce in return for lifting the blockade and opening all Gaza border crossings, including Rafah. Our calls fell on deaf ears. Yet still we would be willing to begin a new truce on these terms following the complete withdrawal of the invading forces from Gaza.

No rockets have ever been fired from the West Bank. But 50 died and hundreds more were injured there last year at Israel's hands, while its expansionism proceeded relentlessly. We are meant to be content with shrinking scraps of territory, a handful of cantons at Israel's mercy, enclosed by it from all sides. The truth is Israel seeks a one-sided ceasefire, observed by my people alone, in return for siege, starvation, bombardment, assassinations, incursions and colonial settlement. What Israel wants is a gratuitous ceasefire.

“The logic of those who demand that we stop our resistance is absurd. They absolve the aggressor and occupier - armed with the deadliest weapons of death and destruction - of responsibility, while blaming the victim, prisoner and occupied. Our modest, home-made rockets are our cry of protest to the world. Israel and its American and European sponsors want us to be killed in silence. But die in silence we will not”

“Israel will no doubt wreak untold destruction, death and suffering in Gaza. But it will meet the same fate in Gaza as it did in Lebanon. We will not be broken by siege and bombardment, and will never surrender to occupation”

(“This brutality will never break our will to be free,” by Khalid Mish’al, Guardian.co.uk, January 6, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/06/gaza-israel-hamas).

February 18, 2009

“’There can be no truce unless the [Gaza] blockade is lifted and the crossings are opened. The truce issue should not be linked to the issue of prisoner Shalit’.”
(Qtd. in “Hamas: Israel stabbed Egypt in the back over Gaza truce,” by Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz, February 18, 2009, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1065157.html).

February 18, 2009

“’No truce without lifting the siege and opening the crossing points, and the truce shouldn’t be mixed with the file of the captured Israeli soldier as he (Shalit) will be swapped with our male and female captives in Israeli jails, and that is the position of the resistance’.”

“’We believe that accelerating inter-Arab understanding would greatly contribute in making the inter-Palestinian reconciliation succeed’.”

“’Every time we almost reach an agreement, Israel is putting more conditions that wouldn’t help in closing this file’.”

(Qtd. in “Mishaal: Occupation is responsible if Egypt's efforts fail”, Palestineinfo.co.uk, February 18, 2009, http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi

1s7O77Z7A6wcDS3q6akCZ8HXqPUHdpgTGCv5YCf6oRKWjedo72cyAxGdoS6A9XIFmg

vE%2fO4ZDGQvhND6Lpo8KqMwCp1y0xQtyIbTG1BgmP5yq0%3d).

March 23, 2009

“’I wait for the day when our only option will be a political and peaceful approach. But there are other people, not me, to determine the route’.”

“’How can Israel expects peace? . . . . We are pushed to continue a double path made of politics and resistance’.”

“’What does it mean recognition of Israel when it is imposed only on us and not on others: it is not imposed to Syria to whom the US and Israel want to talk’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas leader: Israel creating obstacles to reach prisoner exchange deal,” by Viola Campali, Albawaba, Rome, March 23, 2009, http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Palestine/242417).

April 3, 2009

“’Unfortunately, after speaking with them (Hamas officials) in Cairo ... the reconciliation process is still slow, burdened with foreign conditions’.”

 (Qtd. in “Palestinian Fatah-Hamas power-sharing talks break up again,” Gulfnews, April 3, 2009, http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10300877.html).

April 23, 2009

“’Resistance is means to an end and not the objective itself . . . and if we find another way to end the occupation – we will use it’.”

“’The Palestinian people must be able to exercise their right for self determination, have sovereignty and be allowed to have a state like every other nations in the world’.”

“’A national resistance movement that seeks to get rid of the occupation and allow the Palestinian people to have freedom and very other legitimate right. Israel is stronger than us, but force alone cannot decide the campaign – Israel has failed to do so time and again’.”

(Qtd. in “Mashaal: Europe should help promote peace” by Roee Nahmias Israel News, April 23, 3009, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3705491,00.html).

May 3-4, 2009

“’Hamas has accepted the national reconciliation document. It has accepted a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders including East Jerusalem, dismantling settlements, and the right of return based on a long term truce. Hamas has represented a clear political program through a unity government. This is Hamas's program regardless of the historic documents’.”

“’There is a mistake committed by some international parties. They regard the firing of the rockets from Gaza as the starting point followed by the Israel response. It's the opposite. Israel is practicing the occupation. Israel is controlling every aspect of Palestinian life. Israel is imposing the siege. Israel is starting things and therefore you have the reaction. Palestinians defend themselves through firing the rockets. Israel is responsible. Not targeting civilians is part of an evaluation of the movement to serve the people's interest. Firing these rockets is a method and not the goal. The right to resist the occupation is a legitimate right but practicing this right is decided by the leadership within the movement. Resisting is based on evaluation and timing that take into consideration the following: Maintain the right to resist and to respond to the occupation, keeping in mind the interest of our people and the hardship they are going through and exposing the reality of the Israeli aggression and its policies’.”

“The central goal is the liberation of the occupied land and regaining our rights, ending the Israeli occupation, leading our people toward liberation and freedom, achieving the right of self-determination and living in a sovereign state on liberated land. This is the goal for our people to live without occupation, away from the killing. Until we achieve this goal, we will work hard to serve the Palestinian people in all fields: social, economic, humanitarian in order to alleviate the suffering, implement the reform program to fight corruption, strengthen the democratic life in the political system in the frame of Palestinian Authority and the PLO, unify Palestinians inside and outside for all to work toward one goal that is serving the national cause, and .strengthen the relationship between the Palestinian people and the Arab/Islamic world’.”

“’The priority is ending the Israeli occupation and achieving the national project. The nature of the system is left for the people to choose. As the people choose their representatives, they will choose their program too’.”

“’When it comes to Obama, his language is different and positive. When it comes to Hillary it's the opposite. She is returning to the previous administration of Bush, especially when repeating the Quartet conditions as a condition for reaching Palestinian reconciliation. Her repetition has led to harming the Palestinian dialogue and obstructing it from reaching success to end the Palestinian division’.”

“’We have suggested a way out and have proposed it during the Cairo talks. The national unity government should be based on what was agreed upon in Cairo in 2005 and during the Mecca talks in 2007 and the national reconciliation document of 2006. Hamas and Fatah have accepted all of that and signed on them. It's the logical way out sponsored by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Another way out that was proposed by Hamas is a temporary unity government without a political program till the next election. Why impose conditions? Both options have been rejected, which shows there is no intention and the external interference by the U.S., Israel and the Quartet is hindering the ending of the Palestinian division. The Quartet's conditions are not logical. Hamas will continue its efforts to reaching reconciliation. We will be flexible with all ideas’.”

(Qtd. in “Transcript: Interview With Khaled Meshal of Hamas,” New York Times, May 5, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/world/middleeast/05Meshal-transcript.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast).

May 4, 2009

“’There is only one enemy in the region, and that is Israel’.”

“’We are with a state on the 1967 borders, based on a long-term truce….This includes east Jerusalem, the dismantling of settlements and the right of return of the Palestinian refugees’.”

“’Not firing the rockets currently is part of an evaluation from the movement which serves the Palestinians’ interest. After all, the firing is a method, not a goal. Resistance is a legitimate right, but practicing such a right comes under an evaluation by the movement’s leaders’.”

“’Iran's support to us is not conditioned. No one controls or affects our policies’.”

“’The priority is ending the occupation and achieving the national project’ . . . . ‘As for the nature of the state, it’s to be determined by the people. It will never be imposed upon them’.”

“’Death has become like drinking water’”

(Qtd. in “Addressing U.S., Hamas Says It Grounded Rockets” by Taghreed El-Khodary and Ethan Bronner, Published: May 4, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/world/middleeast/05meshal.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=khaled%20mashaal&st=cse).

May 5, 2009

“’I promise the American administration and the international community that we will be part of the solution, period’.”

“[The demand for recognition] is ‘just a pretext by the United States and Israel to escape dealing with the real issue and to throw the ball into the Arab and Palestinian court’”

(Qtd. in “Hamas leader says group wants to resolve conflict” May 5, 2009 Associated Press Newswires, http://0-global.factiva.com.maurice.bgsu.edu/ha/default.aspx ).

May 5, 2009

“’Did that recognition [of Israel] lead to an end of the occupation? It's just a pretext by the United States and Israel to escape dealing with the real issue and to throw the ball into the Arab and Palestinian court’.” (Qtd. in “Meshal: Hamas seeks Palestinian state based on 1967 borders,” by Haaretz Service, May 5, 2009, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1083183.html).

May 8, 2009

“’The resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people as long as the occupation persisted, and thus, no one has the right to block the Palestinian people from arming and defending themselves’.”

“’The cause of the problem is not the rockets fired from Gaza, but rather it is in the Israeli aggression, the persistent settlement activities, the apartheid wall, and the judaization of the Palestinian land’.” (Qtd. in “Mishaal: Palestinian constants should not be compromised” May 8, 2009, http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7h

1L%2bIUU7OjOIVafOHEJTwkPo5oOXyITTHMPz6Q6RGem48FCLZzXES0RbBGDGcaKu

%2f9NbGsQaUMUQue0Flde%2fTm%2bJ%2fknf5beZJZ2sV1u0ujQ%3d).

May 30, 2009

“’In the Hamas movement we are undertaking a just resistance against the occupiers, not terrorism, as the US terms it. Hamas [Harakat Muqáwama Islámija, Islamic Resistance Movement] is a resistance movement, not a terrorist movement. I do not care what others say about us. The most important thing is if I am doing my duty or not. If I surrender to the Israeli enemy and I am appreciated by the US administration, what will be my profit? My priority is to do my duty towards my nation.’”

“’We are a just resistance movement against the Israeli occupier. Resistance is our right as it is the right of any other nation of the world. Secondly, we belong to the culture of this region, the Muslim East, and we bear its culture and identity as every country in the world and all people in the world bear their culture and identity. Thirdly, we are open to the world, we recognize others, and we believe in dialog between civilizations and cultures. We believe in tolerance and justice, we respect human rights, democracy, the peaceful handing over of authority and we are against all forms of oppression. We treat humanity as the children of Adam and Eve and we live together on this planet. This is how the Hamas movement sees itself. But as Hamas respects the rights of others, we can not accept that somebody else is taking our rights from us’.”

“’We believe that the basis of the national state should be – and this is valid for the Palestinian state - democracy with free elections. We are against dictatorship. This state must belong to all people [compare the Israeli statement that Israel must be a Jewish state, remark of Foreign Desk], and it does not matter if its citizens are Muslims or Christians, there is no difference between races and religions. We in Palestine are of the same race - Arab Palestinians. We see our state as being based general happiness and on the fight against corruption, on the respect for human rights. Culture and religion is a free choice of all sons of their native country, it cannot be imposed’.”

“’Self- sacrificial actions were a response to Israeli slaughters, especially in the Ibrahimi mosque [in Hebron] in 1994 [the attack of Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein, who killed 29 and wounded 150 praying Muslims in the mosque]. This is normal human behavior. Every action has its reaction. And the one responsible for it is the person who began this action. We do not aim to kill Israeli civilians, children and women. But Israeli crimes provoke this reaction of the Palestinian people that they are even willing to blow up their bodies’.”

“’I am a political leader and I do not intervene in military actions’.”

“’ I support the Palestinian people and their fight for their rights with all the means that they have. And I ask the world to provide modern arms to the Palestinian people to be able to defend themselves!’.”

“’The decision about resistance - including the firing of rockets - is based on three factors: firstly, the implementation of the right of the Palestinian people to struggle against the occupation, secondly, evaluation of the living conditions of the Palestinian people, and the third point is to reveal that it is the Zionist enemy who is responsible for this bloody conflict in the region’.”

“’ As I have stressed several times, Hamas accepts the Palestinian state on the borders from June 1967 (before the war). This acceptance includes ensuring the special status Jerusalem and the dismantling of the [Israeli] settlements [on the West bank] and the right for Palestinians to return. This was agreed upon by the National Accord Document in 2006’.”

“’We do not want to attack civilians. That is why we want better and more precise weapons to be able to aim at [Israeli] military targets’.”

“’My main task is the Palestinian question, it is not of primary importance if it will be a two states solution or another solution. We want our state, but we want to get rid of the occupiers first. However, Israel is not accepting the two state solution. Arafat was not successful. Abbas is also not successful, and they were both abiding fully with international terms, recognizing Israel. Israel never gives up if it is not under pressure. It is not a question of a compromise with Netanyahu or Lieberman or whoever. We have to concentrate pressure on the occupier. And this pressure must be an armed struggle to achieve something’.”

“’We want a real state - politically, and economically independent from Israel, with its own security. This is the kind of state we want. We do not want any type of state which will have to follow Israel. Palestinians with their experience, education and capability are able to have their own state’”

(Qtd. in “Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal: Who is qualified to judge others?,” by Zdenek Lokaj, Idnes.cz, May 30, 2009, http://zpravy.idnes.cz/hamas-chief-khaled-meshaal-who-is-qualified-to-judge-others-pnu-/kavarna.asp?c=A090529_184237_kavarna_bos).

June 4, 2009

“’Of course I listened to the speech. The words are different from those used by Bush. The speech was cleverly written in the way it addressed the Muslim world-- using phrases from the Holy Kor'an, and referring to some historical events. And also, in the way it showed respect to the Muslim heritage. But I think it's not enough!’”

“’What's needed are deeds, actions on the ground, and a change of policies.

For example, if the Palestinians today don't find a real change from the situation of siege in Gaza, there's no point; the speech by itself doesn't help them. What they're looking for is an end to the siege and an end to occupation’.”

‘”We want to see practical steps by the United States such as ending Israel's settlement activity, putting an end to Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land and its campaign to Judaize Jerusalem; an end to its demolitions of Palestinian homes; and the removal of the 600 checkpoints that are stifling normal life in the West Bank’.”

“’Rather than sweet words from President Obama on democratization, we'd rather see the United States start to respect the results of democratic elections that have already been held. And rather than talk about democratization and human rights in the Arab world, we'd rather see the removal of General Dayton, who's building a police state there in the West Bank’.”

“’In the speech, Obama talked about the Palestinian state, but not its borders. He didn't mention whether it should comprise all the Palestinian land that was occupied in 1967, or just part of it, as Israel demands. He made no mention of Jerusalem or the Right of Return. Yes, he spoke of an end to settlement activity; but can he really get them to stop?
Without addressing these issues, the speech remains rhetoric, not so very different from his predecessor's’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas's Meshaal reacts to the speech,” by Helena Cobban, June 4, 2009,

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/06/04/hamass_meshaal_reacts_to_the_speech)  

June 5, 2009

“’We want to be part of the solution, but on the basis of Palestinian rights,’ . . ..’We have already said we’ll work for the success of any project that ends the occupation of 1967, restores Palestinian rights, and grants to Palestinians our right of self-determination’.”

“’We need two things from Obama, Mitchell, the Quartet, and the rest of the international community. Firstly, pressure on Israel to acknowledge and grant these rights. The obstacle to this is completely on the Israeli side. Secondly, we need the international actors to refrain from intervening in internal Palestinian affairs. You should leave it to the Palestinians to resolve our differences peacefully. You should respect Palestinian democracy and its results’.”

“’We’re eager for the reconciliation with Fatah. It’s both a political and a humanitarian necessity. But success is unlikely because of outside intervention’ . . . . ‘Egypt is not the problem,’ . . . ‘the problem is not the mediator, but the outside intervention’.”

“’I have said I accept a Palestinian state if Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 line. That doesn’t annul the historical fact of the Israeli occupation of 1948, but Hamas and the other factions have all accepted this solution of a Palestinian state at the 1967 line. But there’s still no Israeli acceptance of this, and no international recognition of this outcome’.”

“’Obama talked about the Palestinian state, but not its borders,’. . . .’He didn't mention whether it should comprise all the Palestinian land that was occupied in 1967, or just part of it, as Israel demands’.”
(Qtd. in “US-MIDEAST: ‘Hamas Leader to Obama: Deeds, Not Words,’” by Helena Cobban, IPS, June 5, 2009, http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47107).      

June 9, 2009

“’We will pursue our policy in cooperating with the Egyptian efforts to reach a real reconciliation but the most difficult obstacle hampering reaching a Palestinian reconciliation is what is happening in the West Bank,’. . . .’What is happening in the West Bank cannot be accepted’. . . .’This obstacle must be resolved in order to create an atmosphere that would allow achieving reconciliation’.”

(Qtd. in “Raids hamper Palestinian reconciliation-Hamas,” Reuters, June 9, 2009,

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L9703353.htm).

June 10, 2009

“’We will not accept that the resistance in the West Bank is disarmed and killed while our land is occupied’.”

“’Hamas will cooperate with the Arabs and the international community if efforts are tending toward realizing Palestinian interests’. . . .’The Arabs and the Palestinians have offered enough. Pressure should now be put on Israel’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas chief says arrests hinder unity,” Middle-East-Online, June 10, 2009, http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=32625).

June 10, 2009

“’Hamas welcomes any meaningful opportunity providing that it turns into a real opportunity and policies on the ground to end the Israeli occupation and gives to our people the right of self determination, and to live in a sovereign state without occupation based on 1967 borders’.”

“’To disarm and condemn resistance in the West Bank as it is something lawless is unacceptable’.” 

“’Who ever having a program and a weapon of resistance whether from Hamas or Fatah or any other faction has the right to resist as long as our land is occupied, this is a legal right’.”

“’There is a campaign to eradicate Hamas movement politically and socially,’. . . ‘No government like Salam Fayyad's government can incriminate resistance, this is unacceptable’.”

“’This is a free commitment from Fayyad's government to the security aspect of Road Map while Israel did nothing for the blockade and settlements or building the wall’.”

“’We agreed with our brothers in Egypt to activate measures of releasing our prisoners and changing the security policies,’. . . .’Without achieving that, Palestinian reconciliation would be hindered’.”

“’We need real pressure from United States on Israel especially under the tough government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which at least now asked to stop settlements from the international community and the United States’.” 

“’No one in the region or in the international community can make something effective to the Arab-Israeli conflict without dealing with Hamas and all other Palestinian factions’.”

(Qtd. in “Meshaal in Cairo to defuse tension between Hamas, Fatah,” People’s Daily Online, June 10, 2009, http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6675454.html).

June 11, 2009

“’Hamas movement won't be an obstacle before any serious movement that ends the occupation and establish a state with full sovereignty on the land, the border and the air’.”
(Qtd. in “PNA, Hamas welcome U.S. remarks on Palestinian statehood,” by Saud Abu Ramadan, June 11, 2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/11/content_11522838.htm).

June 11, 2009

“’In Palestine we are facing an occupation and occupation must be confronted with weapons according to all charters, conventions and international laws and this has been the case throughout history. As for the Afro-Americans in the United States, they fought for civil rights and there is a big difference between the two situations. His [Obama’s] comparison to the situation in South Africa is erroneous as they used armed resistance as well as political means there’.”

(Hamas Chief Urges Obama to Drop Preconditions for Dialogue, Asharq Al-Awsat Exclusive, by Salaah jum'ah, June 11, 2009, http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=17039).

June 11, 2009

“’Hamas will not be an obstacle to a peace agreement in the 1967 borders, Hamas will be a positive element helping to reach a solution that is fair to the Palestinians and will enable them to realize their rights’.”

(Qtd. in “Obama Inspires Possible Shift in Hamas,” The Pulse, Assaf Gabor in Makor Rishon-Hatzofe, June 11, 2009, http://www.israelpolicyforum.org/blog/obama-inspires-possible-shift-hamas).

Statements by Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader in Gaza, 2008-June, 2009

January 13, 2008

“’We reject [US President George W. Bush’s] denial of the right of return of refugees and his position on Jerusalem’.”

“’We do not accept that 11,000 (Palestinian) prisoners stay in Israeli jails and that (Jewish) settlements remain in Palestinian territory," the Hamas official added’.”

(Qtd. in “US admits Mideast peace deal hangs on fate of Gaza,” Channelnewsasia.com, January 13, 2008, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/322254/1/.html).

January 24, 2008

“’We don't want only one party to be in control of the Rafah border. The issue must be jointly worked out’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas calls for 3-party border talks,” PRESSTV, January 24, 2008, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=40173&sectionid=351020202).  

February 2

“’We have said from the days of our election campaign that we want to move toward economic disengagement from the Israeli occupation’. . . .’Egypt has a greater ability to meet the needs of Gaza’.”

(Qtd. in “Egypt closes Rafah border,” by Khaled Abu Toameh, Yaakov Katz, AP and JPost.com staff, The Jerusalem Post, February 2, 2008 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201867278614&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer).

February 8, 2008

“’I am disappointed that Europe continues to go under the protective veil of the United States and remain silent in light of Israel's massacres of the Palestinian people’.”

“’There are some European countries with whom we have good relations, but I would like them to play a more important role in the Middle East crisis’.”

“’We are ready to establish dialogue with them, but they have become closer to our enemy, since we were elected in 2006, and they use the same measure of assessment as the Americans do’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas leader Haniya accuses Europe of inaction on 'massacres',” Earthtimes.org, February 8, 2008, http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/184629,hamas-leader-haniya-accuses-europe-of-inaction-on-massacres.html). 

February 28, 2008

“’Repeated crimes by the Zionist occupation against our people and the targeting of children are proof that the leaders of the occupation are suffering from hysteria’.”

(Qtd. in “Israel bombs Gaza after Hamas rocket attack,” by Mark Tran, Guardian.co.uk, February 28, 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/28/israelandthepalestinians2).   

March 1, 2008

 “’ [The Israelis] want the world to condemn what they call the Holocaust and now they are threatening our people with a Holocaust’.”

(Qtd. in “Israeli minister warns of Holocaust for Gaza if violence continues,” Rory McCarthy, The Guardian, March 1, 2008,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/01/israelandthepalestinians1).

May 1, 2008

“’We are prepared for this initiative or any Arab or Palestinian initiative for unconditional dialogue for the promotion of steadfastness and the ability to confront the occupation and the Judaization of Jerusalem and the settlements’.”

“’Haniya also stated clearly that he was ready to sit down with President Abbas if he would like to come to Gaza and discuss all of the issues currently on the table’.”

“’Muslims and Christians in Palestine  are one people with the same hopes who suffer the same pain,” said Haniya while continuing to say that “the occupation does not differentiate’.”

 (Qtd. in “Hamas PM: Palestinian Christians and Muslims share same hopes, same problems,” May 1, 2008 http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2718&Itemid=39).

August 6, 2008

“’We welcome the call by president Abbas to hold a national dialogue and the new positive spirit in his speech, and we state that our hand reaches out for national unity’.”

“’We call for the immediate launch of a national dialogue based on the Yemen initiative’.”

“’We urge the Arab League to sponsor this dialogue and reconciliation, as it did with our Lebanese brothers’. . . [with] neither victor nor vanquished’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas hails Fatah call for talks,” HeraldSun.com.au, August 6, 2008, http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23819530-5005961,00.html).

September 6, 2008

“’Gaza needs effective Arab role not Arab troops. This support is needed to lift the Israeli siege and defy the American-Israeli arrogance’.”

“’Gaza is now free, secure and stable; therefore, it is determined to restore the national unity on correct basis, away from any American dictations or Veto’.”

(Qtd. in “’Gaza needs Arab support not troops’,” PRESSTV, September 6, 2008, http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=68616&sectionid=351020202).

November 1, 2008

“’Bush gave Israel all the required pledges to solidify its occupation and to wipe out basic Palestinian rights and sacred issues, while he gave the Palestinians more illusions and slogans, and loose words that only express the deception which has characterized his visit’.”

“’The problem of Palestine will remain alive. A short visit of a few hours can’t reduce this historic right and shrink the future of Palestinian generations on the land of Palestine’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas chief: Bush promises unacceptable for Palestinians,” by the Associated Press, November 1, 2008, http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3493106,00.html).

November 10, 2008

“’We don't have a state, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. Gaza is under siege and the West Bank is occupied. What we have in the Gaza Strip is not a state, but rather a regime of an elected government. A Palestinian state will not be created at this time except in the territories of 1967’.”

“’Our ties with Iran are like those with other Muslim states. Does a besieged people [who are] waiting breathlessly for a ship to come from the sea want to throw the Jews into the ocean? Our conflict is not with the Jews, our problem is with the occupation’.”

(Qtd. in “Haniyeh: We will accept Palestinian state within '67 borders,” by Amira Hass, Haaretz, November 10, 2008, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1035434.html).

November 16, 2008

“’The continuation of the truce deal depends mainly on the halt of the Zionist war machinery against our Palestinian people as well as lifting the repressive siege and reopening the crossings’.”

“’Israel should interpret its verbal commitment to the ceasefire into actions on the ground, by simply stopping all forms of aggression against the Palestinian people’.”

(Qtd. in “Hamas leader: Calm to continue if blockade lifted,” Albawaba.com, http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/237764).

December 28, 2008

“’We will not leave our land, we will not raise white flags and we will not kneel except before God’.”

(Qtd. in “Israeli missile attacks kill hundreds in Gaza Strip,” News.com, December 28, 2008, http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24849248-952,00.html).

January 4, 2009

“’Our message: end the aggression without conditions, end the siege and open the crossings, then after that we can speak positively, nationally ... and we can start all the dialogues’.”

 “’Our message: end the aggression without conditions, end the siege and open the crossings, then after that we can speak positively, nationally ... and we can start all the dialogues’.”

(Qtd. in “Confusion over ceasefire deal led to conflict neither side wanted,” Rory McCarthy, Guardian.co.uk, January 4, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/05/hamas-israel-palestine-gaza).  

January 1, 2009

“’First, the Zionist aggression must end without any conditions ... Second, the siege must be lifted and all the crossings must be opened because the siege is the source of all of Gaza's problems,’.  .  . .’After that it will be possible to talk on all issues without any exception’.”

(Qtd. in “Israel rejects ceasefire move as divisions emerge in leadership,” Rory McCarthy, The Guardian, January 1, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/01/israelandthepalestinians-middleeast).

January 7, 2009

“’[Israel] has failed to force the population to surrender’.”

(Qtd. in “Gaza's day of carnage - 40 dead as Israelis bomb two UN schools,” Chris McGreal and Hazem Balousha, January 7, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-obama).

January 13, 2009

“’[We will] deal positively with any initiative that can end the aggression and allow the withdrawal of the occupation troops, and end the siege so that we can stop the bloodshed’. . . . ‘[We will also continue] our resistance against this occupation until it leaves our lands’.”

 (Qtd. in “Israeli forces close in on Gaza City,” Rory McCarthy, Guardian.co.uk, January 13, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/13/israeli-forces-enter-gaza-city).

January 15, 2009

“Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not end its occupation nor, as a result, its international obligations as an occupying power. It continued to control and dominate our borders by land, sea and air. Indeed the UN has confirmed that between 2005 and 2008, the Israeli army killed nearly 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, including 222 children. For most of that period the border crossings have remained effectively closed, with only limited quantities of food, industrial fuel, animal feed and a few other essential items, allowed in.

Despite its frantic efforts to conceal it, the root cause of Israel's criminal war on Gaza is the elections of January 2006, which saw Hamas win by a substantial majority. What occurred next was that Israel alongside the United States and the European Union joined forces in an attempt to quash the democratic will of the Palestinian people. They set about reversing the decision first by obstructing the formation of a national unity government and then by making a living hell for the Palestinian people through economic strangulation. The abject failure of all these machinations finally led to this vicious war. Israel's objective is to silence all voices that express the will of the Palestinian; thereafter it would impose its own terms for a final settlement depriving us of our land, our right to Jerusalem as the rightful capital of our future state and the Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes.

Ultimately, the comprehensive siege on Gaza, which manifestly violated the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibited the most basic medical supplies to our hospitals. It disallowed the delivery of fuel and supply of electricity to our population. And on top of all of this inhumanity, it denied them food and the freedom of movement, even to seek treatment. This led to the avoidable death of hundreds of patients and the spiraling rise of malnutrition among our children.

Palestinians are appalled that the members of the European Union do not view this obscene siege as a form of aggression. Despite the overwhelming evidence, they shamelessly assert that Hamas brought this catastrophe upon the Palestinian people because it did not renew the truce. Yet we ask, did Israel honor the terms of the ceasefire mediated by Egypt in June? It did not. The agreement stipulated a lifting of the siege and an end to attacks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Despite our full compliance, the Israelis persisted in murdering Palestinians in Gaza as well as the West Bank during what became known as the year of the Annapolis peace.

None of the atrocities committed against our schools, universities, mosques, ministries and civil infra-structure would deter us in the pursuit of our national rights. Undoubtedly, Israel could demolish every building in the Gaza Strip but it would never shatter our determination or steadfastness to live in dignity on our land. Surely, if the gathering of civilians in a building only to then bomb it or the use of phosphorous bombs and missiles are not war crimes, then what is? How many more international treaties and conventions must Zionist Israel breach before it is held accountable? There is not a capital in the world today where free and decent people are not outraged by this brutal oppression. Neither Palestine nor the world would be the same after these crimes.

There is only one way forward and no other. Our condition for a new ceasefire is clear and simple. Israel must end its criminal war and slaughter of our people, lift completely and unconditionally its illegal siege of the Gaza Strip, open all our border crossings and completely withdraw from Gaza. After this we would consider future options. Ultimately, the Palestinians are a people struggling for freedom from occupation and the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees to their villages from which they were expelled. Whatever the cost, the continuation of Israel's massacres will neither break our will nor our aspiration for freedom and independence.”

(Qtd. in “Ismail Haniyeh: My message to the West – Israel must stop the slaughter,” Ismail Haniyeh, Independent.co.uk, January 15, 2009, http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ismail-haniyeh-my-message-to-the-west-ndash-israel-must-stop-the-slaughter-1366726.html).

January 31, 2009

“The Palestinian nation desires a life of freedom and dignity, a life free of occupation and blockades. In order for us to achieve this, aside from divine assistance, the continuing support of your Excellency and the Iranian nation is required to enable us to stand against the US and the criminal Zionist regime.”

(“Ismail Haniya's letter to Iran,” Ismail Haniyeh, PRESSTV, January 31, 2009, http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=84307&sectionid=3510304).

March 31, 2009

“Hamas wants to put an end to the split and boost partnership in administering the country,’. . . .’ We are working to build a respectful political system’.”

(Qtd. in “Palestinian factions return to Cairo for talks,” Thaindian.com, March 31, 2009, http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/palestinian-factions-return-to-cairo-for-talks_100173865.html).

June 17, 2009

“’[Hamas is] prepared to accept a state in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967’.”

“’We are pushing towards the dream of having our independent state with Jerusalem as its capital’.”

“’If there is a real project that aims to resolve the Palestinian cause on establishing a Palestinian state on 1967 borders, under full Palestinian sovereignty, we will support it’.”

(Qtd. in “Carter: I believe Gilad Shalit is alive,” by Ofri Ilani, Haaretz, June 17, 2009, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093393.html).

July 31, 2009

"Hamas and other Palestinian groups are ready to cooperate with any American, international or regional effort to find a just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, to end the Israeli occupation and to grant the Palestinian people their right of self-determination."

"The end of settlements is a necessary step, but it's not the solution itself."

"I don't care about Israel - it is our enemy and our occupier and it commits crimes against our people....Don't ask me about Israel, Israel can talk for itself."

"We along with other Palestinian factions in consensus agreed upon accepting a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines. This is our program. This is a position we stand by and respect."

(Qtd. in "Hamas Chief Outlines Terms for Talks on Arab-Israeli Peace," by Jay Solomon, The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2009)