Hamas leaders on Monday rejected as ‘blackmail’ Western demands that the Palestinian resistance movement recognises Israel’s right to exist and renounces violence against the Israeli occupying power or risk losing aid vital to the survival of the Palestinian National Authority.
The Palestine Media Centre reported: ‘The Palestinian people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip face aid cut threats from the Western countries as well as from Israel, as a punishment for electing the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election on January 25.’
In the event, Hamas was given time from the Middle East Quartet (European Union, Russia, the US and UN) to renounce violence and recognise Israel’s right to exist before it forms the next Palestinian government.
Meeting on Monday evening in London, the Quartet leaders pledged to keep money flowing into the interim caretaker administration of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
‘We do believe that Abu Mazen (Abbas) needs to be supported,’ US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said, ensuring that funds will be available to pay for Palestinian police officers and civil servants.
But the Quartet warned that foreign aid could be lost in the longer term unless Hamas abandons violence, recognises Israel and embraces the diplomatic ‘roapmap’ to peace.
Sami Abu-Zuhri, official spokesman of Hamas, in Gaza, said Monday before the Quartet meeting that Hamas will not amend its charter.
He stressed: ‘We will certainly choose to stick to our principles and to the rights of our Palestinian people, who have always proved that they are capable of facing up to all challenges.
‘The Western stand is unfair and biased towards the Israeli occupation: First, because it conflicts with the concept of the democratic process, and with respect for the peoples’ will; because pressure should be directed against the occupation, and not against the Palestinian people, who are the victims; and third, because our people are living under occupation.
‘The international community is obligated to offer aid and support to our Palestinian people, and to shoulder its responsibilities vis-a-vis this issue.
‘We within Hamas will not give in to pressure. We will stick to our principles and constants. That is why our people voted for us.
‘Our people have constantly proved that their dignity is too precious to be sold for a handful of dollars.’
Asked will Hamas recognise Israel as a sovereign state, Abu-Zuhri replied: ‘A people living under occupation should not be asked to recognise the occupiers.
‘Do we have an independent state for us to be asked to recognise the occupiers or the occupying state? The matter of recognition involves two states.
‘We have not achieved independence. Meanwhile, we said that this is a complex and bitter conflict.
‘Consequently, we do not mind the achievement of a long-term truce under which the occupiers would withdraw from our territories, from the territories occupied in 1967, without this leading to any recognition that the occupation is legal.
‘This formula was raised a long time ago; we still subscribe to it, and we think of it as a compromise formula.’
On the threat to cut off funds, the Hamas spokesman said: ‘First, we hope that the West, Europe and the United States, will back down on their stands. This is because we are interested in good ties with the West. Our sole problem lies with the occupation.
‘Second, at any rate, we will not relinquish our principles.
‘Third, the alternative is there. Intrinsic resources can provide the alternative.’
He explained that Hamas will work to streamline the utilisation of resources.
Abu-Zuhri insisted: ‘There are intrinsic resources. It is not true that our Palestinian people do not have these resources. Due to the waste of funds in the past, our people faced problems.
‘Besides, there is an Arab and Muslim nation that must shoulder its responsibilities towards our Palestinian people. This nation is not absolved of living up to its responsibilities.
‘Moreover, Palestinian funds that are being invested abroad must be brought back to the Palestinian territories so that they may be invested in these territories in order to employ people.
‘We have an economic plan. God willing, we will be able to emerge successful. We are confident of this.
‘It is in the West’s interest to back down on this stand. It is in its interest to climb down this tree, recognise Hamas, and recognise our people’s rights. At any rate, we are not concerned about Western stands.’
Earlier senior Hamas leader Ismael Haniyah had appealed to the Quartet leaders on the eve of their meeting:
‘Dear sirs in charge of the Quartet committee’s meeting: greetings.
‘First of all, we greet you and wish you success in making the appropriate decisions. Desiring to build bridges of confidence and humanitarian and civilised cooperation with all of the free world’s peoples and institutions, the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, which won a majority in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), sends this message to you and calls on you to deal with this message with an open mind and high responsibility, stressing the following:
‘1. In light of the Palestinian people’s great confidence in us as expressed in an honest and democratic way which took place in front of hundreds of international observers and thousands of local monitors, we urge you and all countries of the free world to respect the results of democracy and the will of the Palestinian people which was echoed through the ballot box, and to deal with the Palestinian people accordingly.
‘2. We invite the Quartet committee to an open and unconditional dialogue while maintaining a high degree of impartiality and justice.
‘3. Our electoral platform is one of change and reform and we seek to implement it with full will and transparency in managing funds and in public management and in line with sound criteria in order to rebuild the homeland correctly in a manner that will ease the Palestinian people’s suffering.
‘We will conduct real reforms in the Palestinian arena, end the features of financial and administrative corruption, and entrench justice, freedom and equality.
‘4. We seek to build a political system based on pluralism and peaceful transfer of power, bolster democracy and respect human rights under the sovereignty of law.
‘5. It is not a secret that the Palestinian people are still living under the occupation and suffer from ongoing aggression, confiscation of land, siege, construction of the wall, the continued Judaizing of Jerusalem and work to empty it of its Palestinian residents, construction of settlements, detention of thousands and displacement of millions of Palestinian refugees in the world.
‘All of this causes harsh suffering for the Palestinian people, putting them face to face with their natural right to defend themselves against the occupation.
‘In light of this, we ask you to understand this Palestinian reality and not to dictate conditions and demands hastily which ignore this reality and increase the suffering of our people who look forward to freedom, return, independence and the realisation of their legitimate rights and national goals represented by the establishment of their independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
‘In light of the aforementioned, we urge you to understand the priorities of our Palestinian people at this stage and to continue the moral and financial support for this step in order to move the region towards stability instead of pressure and tension.
‘We also call on you to direct all aid and revenues to the treasury of the Palestinian Ministry of Finance to be dispensed in a manner compatible with the priorities of building and developing the Palestinian reality.
‘We assure you that these revenues will be dispensed to cover civil servants’ salaries, daily living costs and some aspects of infrastructure. You can verify this through mechanisms to be agreed upon.
‘Thank you very much.’
Chairman of Hamas political bureau Khaled Mishaal had told a press conference in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Saturday: ‘We are not beggars and will not beg their aid.
‘It is the Western donors’ obligation to give aid.
‘The international community has the moral responsibility of aiding a people under occupation; however, we will not beg for their money.
‘We call on the US and the Europeans to respect the free choice of the Palestinian people and practice what they preach.’
He added: ‘We call on Muslim and Arab countries to help us in the days ahead to do without foreign aid.’
