Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on December 14, 2011.
For more from the MEMRI Palestinian Media Studies Project, visit http://www.memri.org/palestinianmediastudies.
"The Armed Resistance and Armed Struggle are Our Strategic Choice and Our Path to Liberate the Palestinian Land, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River"
Ismail Haniya: "This is the message of Hamas. This is the identity of Hamas. This is the very being of Hamas. Today, Hamas marches along parallel tracks: the track of da'wa and education, the track of resistance and Jihad, and the track of rule and of politics. This is the best response to those who think to themselves, or imagine, that Hamas has withdrawn from the line of resistance, and has withdrawn from the confrontation with this enemy.
"Today, we say, in a clear and unambiguous fashion: The armed resistance and armed struggle are our strategic choice and our path to liberate the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, and to drive the usurping invaders out of the blessed land of Palestine.
"The Hamas movement, which was born in the first Intifada, and lived through the second Intifada, with the grace of Allah, and with the help of this people and all its free man, and with the strong-willed resistance factions of the people, will continue to lead one Intifada after the other, until we liberate Palestine in its entirety, Allah willing."
Crowd: "Allah Akbar. Allah be praised.
"Allah Akbar. Allah be praised.
"Allah Akbar. Allah be praised."
"Jerusalem, We Are Coming… I Don't Mean Only East Jerusalem; Jerusalem in Its Entirety is the Capital of the State of Palestine"
Ismail Haniya: "The rally bears the title: 'Jerusalem, We Are Coming.' Indeed, we are coming. Everything that the enemy is doing in Jerusalem – Judaizing it, establishing settlements in it, destroying the Mughrabi Bridge, closing the Mughrabi Gate, expelling the Palestinian MPs and ministers from Jerusalem, and the excavations [under] the Al-Aqsa Mosque… All these things are futile, and cannot change a thing. Jerusalem belongs to us, not to the oppressors. Jerusalem is Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic. I don't mean only East Jerusalem. Jerusalem in its entirety is the capital of the state of Palestine, Allah willing."
"We Issue a Call… to Establish the 'Army of Jerusalem' in the Arab Capitals and the Capitals of the Revolution"
"Therefore, in an effort to strengthen the bond of the Islamic nation and the capitals of the Arab revolution to Jerusalem and to Al-Aqsa, we issue a call from this place, from the heart of glorious Gaza, from Jerusalem and its environs to establish the 'Army of Jerusalem' in the Arab capitals and the capitals of the revolution, in order to take action to liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, Allah willing. […]
"The principles [of Hamas] are definitive and non-negotiable: Palestine means Palestine in its entirety, from the River to the Sea. There will be no concession of a single inch of the land of Palestine. The fact that Hamas, at one stage or another, accepts the goal of gradual liberation – of Gaza, of the West Bank, or of Jerusalem – is not at the expense of our strategic vision with regard to the land of Palestine. We will work with our people with regard to the things upon which we agree politically, and we will exert all our efforts and our power of resistance to achieve this common goal. However, we maintain two conditions – as I am sure do many of our people, as well as the factions of the mujahideen and the resistance: first, that we will not concede a single inch of the land of Palestine, and second, that we will not recognize Israel." […]
