In a June 25, 2009 speech, Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mash'al focused mainly on the recent speeches by U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, and on the intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks. About Obama, Mash'al said that the U.S. had changed its tone vis-à-vis the Middle East, but that the change must be expressed in deeds, not words. Responding to Netanyahu's speech, Mash'al rejected the conditions set by the Israeli prime minister, adding that the Palestinians must be wary of the danger of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. He clarified that his movement had agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 borders, but that it insisted on the right of return, and rejected alternatives such as naturalizing Palestinian refugees in their countries of residence or regarding Jordan as the Palestinian homeland. Mash'al also rejected the notion of a demilitarized Palestinian state, and said that resistance was a strategy for liberating the homeland and restoring the Palestinians' rights.
The following are excerpts from the speech: [1]
On Obama's Speech: The Language Has Changed - But What is Needed is a Change in Actions
"When the Obama administration came to power, there was a change in the language used vis-à-vis the region. But the question is, who brought about this change?... [It was brought about by] the resolute steadfastness of the region's nations, who resisted in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, rejected the occupiers and the dictates of the invaders, and thwarted the policy of the previous [U.S.] administration...
"We detect a change in the American tone and language vis-à-vis the region and the Muslim world, as reflected in the speech of President Obama in Cairo, and we welcome [this change]. However, we assess every change objectively, and we are not captivated by speeches, because the impact of words is temporary and transient. We want to see a change in the actual policy - that is the yardstick by which we judge positions and changes. Accordingly, the leaders of the superpowers and important countries must take determined and practical action, adopt firm positions, and undertake serious initiatives to restore [our] rights and end the illegitimate occupation. Speeches full of good intentions and promises are not enough.
"Any American administration will be able to restrain Israel and find a solution to end the occupation only if it first [takes steps to] restrict the Zionist influence on the American decision makers and to free U.S. policy of Israel's burdensome intervention and priorities, which exhaust [everyone] and complicate [matters]...
"We have heard no American or European criticism of Netanyahu's speech - only praise, approval, and claims that it is a step in the right direction. Is this the change to which Obama referred in his speech? Where is the change in policy? Is the change confined to language?...
"[As a matter of fact,] there is a problem even with the language. Obama discussed at length the suffering of the Jews and their Holocaust in Europe. At the same time, he ignored our suffering and the holocaust perpetrated by Israel for decades against the Palestinian people, the latest episode of which was the vile war, the real holocaust, perpetrated only a few months ago against our people in Gaza... What kind of justice is it when Obama rewards the Jews with an artificial nation state [created] by robbing the Palestinians of their homeland and destroying it, so that half of the [Palestinian] people live under occupation [and are subject to] massacres and the other half live in refugee camps in the diaspora...
"Balance and integrity in language are important, but we demand something more crucial: integrity in action. [We want to see] the rehabilitation of Gaza, the lifting of the siege, an end to the oppression and [military] pressure on the West Bank, a chance for the Palestinian reconciliation to take place without preconditions or intervention by outside forces, and [measures] to help the Palestinians end the occupation and live in their homeland like all other nations."
On Netanyahu's Speech: Yes To Palestinian State in 1967 Borders and Right of Return; No to Recognition of Jewish Israel, Demilitarized Palestinian State, Naturalizing Refugees, and Jordan as Palestinian Homeland
"Netanyahu's speech was very clear, not vague as some people have claimed. We were not surprised. We knew that he would uphold the main principles of the traditional Zionist message that rejects the rights of the Palestinians, while making a show of accepting Obama's proposals by manipulating words - and that is indeed what happened.
"We completely reject the Israeli position on the Palestinians' rights, as expressed by Netanyahu, and especially [his position] on all matters pertaining to Jerusalem, the right of return, the settlements, normalization of relations with the Arab states, his outlook on the Palestinian state, its territories and its borders, and the condition of demilitarizing the Palestinian state. The state described by Netanyahu is controlled [by Israel] on land, on sea, and in air. It is a castrated state and a great prison of suffering, rather than a homeland worthy of a great people.
"We also reject the so-called 'Jewishness' of Israel, and we warn against any Palestinian or Arab leniency in this regard, because it will mean the denial of the right of six million Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. It will also mean that [the Palestinians] in the 1948 territories [i.e. the Israeli Palestinians] will be driven out of their cities and villages. The call of the enemy's leadership for a Jewish Israel is a racist call, no different from the calls made by the Fascism of Italy or the Nazism of Hitler - obsolete calls, which have been rejected by the world.
"The plan which constitutes our people's bare minimum, and which we accepted in the [May 2006] National Accord Document as a joint political plan of all the Palestinian forces, is the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, with full sovereignty within the June 4, 1967 borders, after the withdrawal of the occupation forces, the removal of all the settlements, and the realization of the right of return.
"The right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, from which they were driven out in 1948, is both a collective national right and an individual right - the personal prerogative of over five million refugees. No leader or negotiator may waive this right.
"Let me also take this opportunity to stress that we categorically reject [the idea of] naturalizing the [Palestinian] refugees [in their countries of residence] and [the idea of] an alternative homeland, especially in our sister-country Jordan. Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine, and there is no substitute for Palestine..."
Resistance Is a Strategic Option
"We emphasize our adherence to the resistance as a strategic option for national liberation and the restoration of our rights. No country in the world is entitled to deny our people its right to engage in resistance against the occupier. The peoples of Europe exercised this right against the Nazis, and the U.S. exercised it against British rule, as did the occupied peoples of Asia and Africa.
"As for 'peaceful resistance' - that is appropriate for the civil rights struggle, but not for the liberation of a homeland. Military occupation, armed with conventional and non-conventional weapons, can be confronted only by armed resistance. Our people has not found an alternative to armed resistance as a means to restore its rights and end the occupation - especially considering that for 60 years, the superpowers have failed to force Israel to end the occupation of our lands, and have not even managed to force it to honor the U.N. resolutions and the international initiatives. This is what caused the failure of the political negotiations in the past two decades and led them to a dead end.
"Resistance is a means, not an end. It is not blind, but is aware of the current changes. However, it is also aware that actual change is brought about not by wishes and requests, nor by capitulation to occupation and injustice - but by [the efforts of] those who resist, fight and sacrifice for the sake of their goals. Were it not for resistance and struggle, the Arab and Muslim nations would never have liberated themselves from modern imperialism, and the peoples of Vietnam and South Africa, for example, would have never been free.
"In our own case, the international and Israeli recognition of the PLO was brought about by those who struggled and sacrificed in the Palestinian revolution and the first Intifada - not by those who gave up their guns and chose the path of negotiation and compromise. The latter turned negotiation into a permanent goal, regardless of its price or the benefit it brought, and [regardless of] the enemy's actions on the ground. More than that - they agreed to cooperate with the enemy against their people..."
The International Community Must Unconditionally Respect the Palestinians' Election of Hamas
"We appreciate the new language used by Obama with regard to Hamas. It is the first step in the right direction, toward direct dialogue with no preconditions, and we welcome this. Any dealings with Hamas and with the Palestinian resistance forces must be based on respect for the will of the Palestinian people and its democratic choice. It must not be based on preconditions, such as those imposed by the Quartet, because imposing preconditions on others is an arbitrary act, which is not appropriate for free peoples...
"These conditions are endless. After the Palestinian negotiators accept them, they are [always] required to accept new conditions. For example, after the condition of recognizing Israel, there came the new conditions of recognizing [Israel] as a Jewish state with Jerusalem as its eternal capital, of waiving the right of return, and of accepting the settlement blocs. In addition, [the Palestinians] are required to give up the resistance and [even] suppress it, persecute it, and disarm it with their own hands.
"And here I want to emphasize something very important: Hamas' top priority is [to obtain] recognition of the Palestinians' rights and their right to self-determination - not recognition of the Hamas [movement itself]. The Palestinian cause is more important than the movement, and interests of the homeland trump all [else]. No leadership has the right to relinquish [our] national rights and interests in return for recognition [of that leadership]."
The Arabs and Palestinians Must Combine Resistance and Diplomacy
"Netanyahu and his ministers have turned the tables on everyone, so why should we leave our offers and positions on the table? Why should our options remain exposed, with no room for maneuvering and without our strongest bargaining chips? Arab and Palestinian moderation has not led Israel to [adopt] moderate positions; rather, it has led to an increase in extremism, to the extent that gangsters like Lieberman have come to power. [The Palestinians' moderate positions] led to Arafat being besieged and [later] assassinated by Sharon. Accordingly, in response to Israel's inflexibility, extremism, and disdain towards us and our rights, we call on the Arab leaders to adopt a new Palestinian-Arab strategy that will leave all the options open and combine resistance with diplomacy…
"Hamas and [all the] Palestinian resistance groups are prepared to cooperate with the Arab countries in creating and implementing this new strategy, which will realize the interests and rights of the nation, protect its future, and raise its status [in the world]. Only then will we gain the respect of others, as well as a real opportunity to restore our rights. However, if we show helplessness and make endless concessions, this will not bring [positive] results, but only more humiliation and the erosion of our rights and our honor. If we project weakness, this will only lead our enemies to become more extremist and to pressure us without respite."
The PA Is Waging a Systematic Campaign Against Hamas in the West Bank
"[Intra-]Palestinian reconciliation is important not because it is crucial to a [peace] settlement or to the renewal of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, as some believe, but because it is of [supreme] national importance to end the [internal] strife and deal with its consequences, to unite our ranks, reinstate social unity, and to strengthen the national Palestinian front in its struggle against the occupation and its extremist leadership… Let me stress here that Hamas, including all its leadership institutions, has decided to act without delay to end the internal rift and arrive at national reconciliation via intra-Palestinian dialogue under the sponsorship of [our] sister Egypt, and to cooperate with [Egypt] and with all Arabs and Muslims in any effort promoting this goal.
"To this end, a Hamas delegation will be dispatched to Cairo to renew the dialogue with [our] friends in Fatah, with a view to removing any obstacles that are still obstructing the road to reconciliation.
"To achieve true reconciliation, several things must be done, the most important of which is to repel [any] outside interference and conditions imposed by external elements. In addition, [all] topics of dialogue must be addressed as a unit, and implemented both in Gaza and the West Bank.
"The main obstacle to reconciliation is what has been happening in Gaza for two years now [namely, the rift between Gaza and the West Bank]. It is a shame that we must deal with internal issues when we are confronted with the challenge of the Zionists… However, the deteriorating situation and vile injustice compel us to warn [about what is happening]…
"This dangerous escalation [in the Hamas-PA conflict] has begun to threaten the national interests and Palestinian principles, in particular the right to resist, and we are no longer talking of a passing internal problem. Unfortunately, we have [been forced to] send a memorandum to the leaders of the [Arab] nation protesting the oppressive measures taken [against us] by the PA, [that is,] by Salam Fayadh's government and its security apparatuses, which are under the oversight of U.S. [security coordinator for Israel and the PA] General [Keith] Dayton.
"What is happening in the West Bank is a systematic campaign targeting the resistance, its weapons, and its fighters from all the military branches. The PA is coordinating its actions with the occupation in order to arrest them and kill them, and what happened in Qalqilya a few weeks ago [i.e. the assassination of several 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam activists by PA security apparatuses] is only the tip of the iceberg - one prominent example of this painful situation. This [campaign] is based on decrees that define any organization that resists the occupation as an illegal organization.
"As part of this campaign, the PA has arrested hundreds of leaders and field activists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad [movements]. There are 830 detainees from Hamas alone, most of them leaders, religious scholars, students, [university] lecturers, and businessmen. Most of them have been subjected to horrible torture, which in many cases resulted in death or hospitalization. Among the detainees are also women, five of whom are still being tortured... The West Bank is witnessing a comprehensive campaign, the like of which has not been seen since 1967, aimed at eradicating Hamas and the [other] resistance forces.
"In addition to the arrests, this campaign includes [other moves aimed at] toppling the organization, [such as] closing down civilian, charity, education, information and media institutions, as well as clubs and zakat [charity] committees. [The PA also] withholds funds from the families of the shahids and prisoners.
"[The actions of] General Dayton and those who worked with him were the primary reason for the coup against the national unity government that was formed on the basis of the 2007 Mecca Agreement. Similarly, the actions carried out today by Dayton along with the Palestinian security apparatuses - which he built and which operate under his supervision - are the main obstacle to achieving national reconciliation...
"An examination of Dayton's May 7 [2009] address to the Washington Institute exposes the danger posed by the actions of this general, who boasted that he had created the 'new Palestinians' and had dismantled the resistance [groups] in the West Bank in coordination with the Israeli army.
"I urge President Obama to recall General Dayton from the West Bank... as part of the spirit of change for which you [Americans] are calling, and because imposing a rule of oppression over our people is in blatant contradiction to the principles of democracy that you [constantly] preach.
"Attacking the resistance and destroying the organizational infrastructure and national institutions in the West Bank does not promote the security or interests of our people; it only serves the security of the Israeli occupation, with no reward for us. Why take pride in unilaterally implementing the Palestinian security obligations set out in the infamous... Road Map [agreement], while the Israeli occupier has implemented none of its obligations [under the Road Map]? This was the case in Olmert's time, and this has continued under Netanyahu and Lieberman, who are more extremist. Must the road to resolving the Palestinian problem and establishing a Palestinian state pass through the elimination of the Palestinian identity, its strongest bargaining chips and its resolute steadfastness?
"We have told Egypt that the issue of the West Bank detainees must be resolved, and that the campaign of oppression [against the resistance] must stop, in order to clear the air and create an atmosphere that will allow the dialogue to succeed and enable real national reconciliation. Despite the efforts of Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries, what we see on the ground is nothing but media statements about releasing [detainees]. We have no faith [in these declarations, because the PA] frees a few detainees and then arrests twice as many..."
Shalit Will Be Returned Only as Part of Serious Exchange Deal
"We are still willing to carry out the [Gilad Shalit] exchange deal. Netanyahu's only option for getting Shalit back is through a serious exchange deal, but if he adopts inflexible [positions] he will fail just like his predecessor, Olmert... Let me stress that all options for freeing the [Palestinian] prisoners are still open, and that today, June 25, is the third anniversary of Shalit's abduction on the battlefield."
Israel Failed in Its Nazi War on Gaza
"Despite our bleeding wounds and our deep anguish, and even though the balance of power favors our enemies, Israel will never defeat our nation. It failed in its Nazi war on Gaza, just as it failed previously in Lebanon, thanks to the mythological steadfastness and the resistance of our people.
"World public opinion has [now] turned against Israel, while the peoples of the Arab and Muslim nations stand alongside Palestine and the resistance. We call for intensifying the resistance and steadfastness, the efforts of the peoples, and [any] diplomatic activity that is cognizant of and complies with [our] principles, national rights and Arab interests, and which [is in tune with] our self-respect and our confidence in Allah. Only this will bring us near to the moment of victory and to [the realization of] our national enterprise, which includes freedom, liberty and self-determination, and which will restore our rights and our holy places..."
Endnote:
[1] www.palestine-info.info, June 25, 2009.
