(Ha'aretz) Ari Shavit - In recent years, quite a number of experts have promised us that Hamas does not really mean it. Hamas is only playing tough, but its intentions are lofty: cease-fire, Green Line, coexistence. Yet what counts is the direct statement made by the Palestinian leader to his people. Standing before 100,000 people in the center of Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh this week declared the objective of the Hamas movement: not the total liberation of Gaza or a Palestinian state, but the liberation of all of Palestine. Hamas is demanding the entire land: the land on which the editorial offices of Ha'aretz are located, every piece of Israeli land on which any Israeli citizen lives, the land beneath our feet. With Hamas controlling Gaza, arming itself to the teeth and enjoying the support of about one-third of the Palestinians, it has the right to veto any diplomatic progress. With Fatah unwilling to recognize the Jewish nation-state and objecting to a demilitarized Palestinian state, there is no chance for a peace treaty.
2009-12-17 09:08:08Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive