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Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
Hamas: Better All Die Than Ever Recognize Israel (In Any Border)
2006-09-29
Hamas rally in Gaza draws tens of thousands, denounces Israel
Reuters
www.haaretz.com/ hasen/spages/ 769095.html
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters held a peaceful rally in Gaza on Friday to denounce the state of Israel and declare that they would never recognize its right to exist.
"We ask God to punish the so-called Israel and the allies of Israel and to punish those who recognize Israel and those who called on us to recognize Israel," Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri told the crowd that thronged the Jabalya refugee camp.
"We vow to God that we will never recognise Israel even if we would be all killed," Masri told the cheering audience of men, women and children, many of whom were wearing green Hamas baseball caps and held aloft Hamas banners.
Masri, a popular young lawmaker, also aimed criticism at Fatah, a rival movement headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, saying it was trying to pressure Hamas, which now runs the Palestinian government, into recognizing Israel.
"Those people are demanding us openly to recognize the occupation and that will never happen," Masri said.
Hamas and Fatah have held talks in recent weeks over the possibility of forming a unity government, but those negotiations now appear to have almost completely broken down.
"The protest aims to stress our rejection to recognize the legitimacy of the occupation," Masri said, referring to what Hamas views as Israel's occupation of all historic Palestine.
Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Israel, has struggled to run the government since it came to power in March because of financial sanctions imposed by the West against it.
Hamas came to power after winning elections in January.
Most of the Palestinian government's 170,000 employees, including tens of thousands of security staff, have largely gone unpaid for the past seven months.
It was hoped that the formation of a unity government with the more moderate Fatah movement might have led to the lifting of at least some of the restrictions.
In recent weeks, protests have been held against Hamas's government throughout the West Bank and Gaza, with teachers, doctors and other essential workers going on strike to demand the payment of their salaries.
"The protest is against the siege and against the attempts by some to carry out a coup against the government," Masri said, again apparently referring to pressure from Fatah.
Loud speakers played songs supporting Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas figure, during the rally and Masri vowed that Hamas's administration would go on governing no matter how much pressure was applied to it.
"This government and the leadership of Hamas of the Palestinian people will continue throughout its legal term, for four years," Masri said.
Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis
