Hamas
To Accept Anything Accepted By Palestinians In A Pblebiscite
By Khalid Mish’al
& Zafarul-Islam Khan
28 September, 2007
Milli Gazette
New Delhi, 28 Sept
2007 (MG): In an exclusive interview with the Delhi-based The
Milli Gazette, Hamas supremo Khalid Mish’al said that “things
are moving in our favour. It is true that we are badly suffering. The
siege is harsh. But the fact remains that Israel too is no longer able
to settle things against us.”
The interview was conducted
with the Hamas leader in Damascus by the Gazette editor Zafarul-Islam
Khan. The full text will appear in the 1 October issue of the paper.
Hamas leader reiterated in
the interview his movement’s stand on the “acceptable minimum”
in a peace deal with Israel while hinting at the same time that anything
acceptable to the Palestinian people in a plebiscite will be acceptable
to Hamas which, he said, has accepted the democratic game and will accept
its results too.
New situation favours
Paletinians
Hamas leader said that “Things
are no longer in favour of Israel. True, it is mightier than us but
it is no longer able to defeat us. This means that the future belongs
to resistance and to the Palestinian people and not to Israel which
relies on aggression. Occupation has no future.”
Participation in
elections was a necessity
Justifying his movement’s
participation in elections and government, Mish’al said that the
Palestinian Authority came via Oslo in 1994. Many years have passed
since during which the Authority became a fait accompli. It is now ruling
the Palestinian people and controls their daily lives. Hamas accepted
to take part in the polls last year on popular demand “because
of the evils and the mistakes committed by the Authority in political,
financial and security fields and because of its stand against resistance.”
He added that there is no state without sovereignty over the land.
Mish’al said that his
organisation’s “basic assumption continues to be that the
priority is for liberation and that there should be no talk of real
state or real power or real authority except when we achieve sovereignty.”
Hamas win exposed
the latent problem
Mish’al rejected that
Hamas is responsible for the hardship in the occupied territories since
it came to power over a year ago. “The hardships only exposed
the real nature of our problem, he said, adding that “The problem
existed already and our elevation to power only exposed the problem
and its cause. This is part of the challenge we face.”
He said that the US and Israel
wanted the Authority to be an autonomous regime committed to stop resistance
and to be bound by security obligations towards Israel. “The US
and Israel did not accept Hamas coming to power through the ballot box
because they do not want an authority committed to resistance. They
do not want an authority which safeguards the security of its people
instead of taking care of the security of Israel. They want an authority
which does not permit resistance,” he said.
Minimum acceptable
to the Palestinian people
Replying to a question about
the minimum acceptable to the Palestinian people, Misha’l appeared
ready to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. He said,
“We agreed on a common denominator acceptable to all Palestinian
factions including Hamas, Fateh, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front, Democratic
Front and others.” This common denominator, according to him,
is “to establish the Palestinian state within the areas of 1967
on the borders prevailing on the 4th of June 1967 including Jerusalem,
right to return - not right to return to the Palestinian State as some
in the region explain it but the right to return to the towns and villages
taken away from the Palestinian people.”
Dialogue with Fateh
Replying to another question
if there was any dialogue between Hamas and Fateh, Mish’al said
that “Some leaders of Fateh tried to start a dialogue with us,
made contacts with us and we too positively responded to them, but later
those leaders were ordered not to engage us in dialogue. It is the Authority
in Ramallah and the government of Salam Fayyad which prohibits dialogue
with us...”
Problems arose due
to rejection of Hamas electoral victory
Asked about the situation
in Gaza after Hamas’s takeover last June, Mish’al quoted
an Arabic couplet which says, “He was thrown in the well, with
both hands tied, and told/ Beware, you must never get wet.” He
went on to say that “Hamas came to power through the ballot box
and free and fair elections. It did not come from outside Palestine…
Hamas’ legality emanates from its struggle and from its political
legality by winning an election…But…it is not allowed to
rule even for a single day. No sooner it won elections than it was denied
power. Both America and Israel conspired against Hamas. From here started
the problems.”
On the problems Hamas faced
after its electoral win, Mish’al said, “Even after the Mecca
Agreement [2 March 2007], General Dayton arrived in order to coordinate
with a certain party in the Palestinian arena as well as with other
security officials in the region with the aim of undermining the national
unity government ushered in by the Mecca Agreement. They supported this
particular party with over one hundred million dollars in addition to
arms and training. Hamas, then, is a victim, not a villain… the
Palestinian people were punished and placed under siege so that they
would shun Hamas.”
Takeover of Gaza
Speaking about the takeover
of Gaza by Hamas last June and the alleged violations by its militias,
Mish’al said, “These issues…started because of this
conspiracy to stage a coup against the legitimate government and this
in turn led to what happened in Gaza Strip…what happened in Gaza
was a coup by a party which sought support of the Americans and the
Israelis against its own legitimate government. Like any other government
facing coup, what should this government do? Should it not defend its
legality? Hamas only defended its constitutional and democratic legality
in the face of a conspiring party in cahoots with its enemies. This
is why things slided to what happened in Gaza.”
He denied that Hamas people
threw people from rooftops and said that in fact the other party did
it while searching for bearded people in Gaza.
Mish’al said that Salam
Fayyad government in Ramallah has arrested hundreds of Hamas leaders
and cadres. It has shut down around 500 charitable, social and cultural
organisations in the West Bank and has stopped the salaries of 11,000
government employees in Gaza. Electricity has been cut off. Rafah checkpoint,
linking Gaza to Egypt, has been closed down.
“This pressure is a
kind of war against us,” he said, adding that “This is why
you find the government in Gaza defending itself. We do not forbid people
to pray in public squares but people have to respect general law and
order. Whoever wants to pray does not go out to stone the offices of
security forces. The government was silent during the first few weeks
but when these people continued to go after prayers to commit illegal
and disruptive acts, the government stepped in to stop this chaos.”
Mish’al accepted that
there were some cases of transgression. “I know that there are
some actions which require examination. But the fact remains that all
this comes in the context of reaction to this pressure. The world has
to realise that what is happening in Gaza is unnatural,” he said.
He said that Gaza is a small
place - just 30x60 sq. kms in which one and a half million people are
crammed in. “They are living under siege, in a big prison. This
pressure leads to explosion.”
Mish’al said that “the
US and Israel did not accept Hamas coming to power through the ballot
box because they do not want an authority committed to resistance. They
do not want an authority which safeguards the security of its people
instead of taking care of the security of Israel.”
Ties with foreign
powers
Mish’al said that Hamas
maintains strong ties with Arab, Islamic, regional and international
players. He described Hamas’s relations with Russia as “excellent.”
Mish’al said that Hamas
is not ready to submit to balance of power. “All nations in the
world have struggled, endured and refused to give in to the tyranny
of the balance of power. There is international injustice. Balance of
power permits Israel to kill and assassinate with impunity. Balance
of power did not come to the rescue of the Palestinian people and did
not help them to retrieve their rights.”
Mish’al welcomed the
signs of a new emerging Russian-Chinese bloc, saying that “Since
the US became the sole world power, the world has seen more and more
wars, more aggression, more bloodshed, more preventive wars and control
of the American politics by the Conservative Right.” He said that
he believes it is in the interest of the whole world that “there
should be a balance in world power.”
Hamas’ conditions
to resolve the problem with Fateh
Mish’al said that there
are now two governments in Palestine. “There is a government in
Ramallah and another one in Gaza Strip.” But, he said, Hamas is
ready to resolve the issue in the light of clear and just principles,
which, according to Mish’al are: 1. Unification of the West Bank
and Gaza; 2. One political system in both the wings. “We want
one authority and one government, not two governments;” 3. The
Palestinian legality with all its components should be respected instead
of being limited to the President of the Authority Mr Abu Mazin. The
elected legislative council too has its legality; 4. Four: Recourse
to law which has been suspended by President Abu Mazin; 5. Dealing with
the basic problem, i.e., the security agencies, on the basis of their
reorganisation patriotic and professional lines “in order to make
them accountable to the government, the interior minister and the Authority
instead of security agencies factions belonging to factions, Fateh and
Hamas alike;” 6. Let a government of national unity be formed
in the West Bank and Gaza under the Palestinian Authority.
Commenting on these demands,
Hamas leader said “We are not demanding the moon. We are demanding
what is logical.”
Popularity of Hamas
is intact
Mish’al rejected the
idea that the popularity of Hamas has dwindled in Gaza since the takeover
last June. He said “Let anyone wishing to know facts, visit Gaza
and see for himself what popularity means.” Mish’al pooh-poohed
the opinion polls in Palestine which he described as “paid and
managed.”
Not ready to accept Oslo, but…
Mish’al rejected that
Hamas is ready to accept Oslo. “[Hamas] adheres to all the rights
of the Palestinian people. It adheres to Jerusalem, right to return,
liberation of the Palestinian land. Hamas rejects the legality of occupation.
These are permanent positions of Hamas Movement.” Yet, he indicated
that Hamas position is not rigid. It is ready to accept a common minimum
programme acceptable to all Palestinians. “We felt that it is
beneficial that Palestinians of all political and ideological hues should
meet and subscribe to a common programme. We agreed on a common denominator
acceptable to all Palestinian factions… [they] all agree on the
following: to establish the Palestinian state within the areas of 1967
on the borders prevailing on the 4th of June 1967 including Jerusalem,
right to return - not right to return to the Palestinian State as some
in the region explain it but the right to return to the towns and villages
taken away from the Palestinian people.”
He hastened to say that this
common minimum programme to some is “their final aim” but
it is not the final aim of Hamas. “Our stand in Hamas is that
we will offer truce to Israel instead of recognition. This is the perspective
of Hamas. It has not changed. We support a state within the 1967 borders
including Jerusalem, right of return [of the refugees], no [Israeli]
settlements in our territory, total sovereignty of all 1967 lands. In
return we offer only truce instead of recognition of Israel. There are
rights of the Palestinian people which must be taken into account,”
said explaining the position of Hamas.
He said that any other solution
will be unacceptable even if agreed to by the Palestinian Authority.
But, he added. “We accept what the Palestinian people accept.
We have accepted the democratic game and we accept the democratic results.
We have faith in our people to whom belong the rights and options.”
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