What would that 'Palestinian Liberation' look like?
Well, in the latest iteration of its stance, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday the group would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip along the pre-1967-borders. Though he again spoke of a truce, it was also a rare suggestion that Hamas could dissolve its armed wing.
After years of internal discussions, Hamas came out with a new political platform in 2017 that presented a dramatic change in tone from its original charter, issued in 1988. The 1988 charter presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in stark religious terms. It spoke of “our struggle against the Jews,” insisted the land belonged to Muslims and declared that jihad, or holy war, was the only way to solve the Palestinian question.
The 2017 document dropped much of that religious and antisemitic rhetoric and instead presented its cause in terms of human rights, including the right of refugees to return and the right to resist occupation. It said its fight wasn’t against Jews but against Zionism, which it called a “colonial” project that had taken Palestinians’ land and repressed their freedoms.
The document enshrined Hamas’s quasi-acceptance of a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It said such a state, with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees, was a “national consensus.” Still, it said it rejects “any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.” That area includes what is now Israel, and in the context of Hamas’ agenda, such language is seen by Israel as a call for its destruction.
Associated Press
I still say the idea of partition along the 32nd parallel would make a start towards a peaceful settlement, and a declaration of Jerusalem as an open city...but i'm still on hold with that call through to the Israeli embassy. Bloody zither music is driving me meshugeneh!
Well, in the latest iteration of its stance, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday the group would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip along the pre-1967-borders. Though he again spoke of a truce, it was also a rare suggestion that Hamas could dissolve its armed wing.
After years of internal discussions, Hamas came out with a new political platform in 2017 that presented a dramatic change in tone from its original charter, issued in 1988. The 1988 charter presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in stark religious terms. It spoke of “our struggle against the Jews,” insisted the land belonged to Muslims and declared that jihad, or holy war, was the only way to solve the Palestinian question.
The 2017 document dropped much of that religious and antisemitic rhetoric and instead presented its cause in terms of human rights, including the right of refugees to return and the right to resist occupation. It said its fight wasn’t against Jews but against Zionism, which it called a “colonial” project that had taken Palestinians’ land and repressed their freedoms.
The document enshrined Hamas’s quasi-acceptance of a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It said such a state, with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees, was a “national consensus.” Still, it said it rejects “any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.” That area includes what is now Israel, and in the context of Hamas’ agenda, such language is seen by Israel as a call for its destruction.
Associated Press
I still say the idea of partition along the 32nd parallel would make a start towards a peaceful settlement, and a declaration of Jerusalem as an open city...but i'm still on hold with that call through to the Israeli embassy. Bloody zither music is driving me meshugeneh!
