Tripped over a nice summary regarding Hamas' alleged refusal to recognise Israel.
The source follows :
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein06122006.html
Those quotes directly contradict the assertion that Hamas won't recognise Israel. They also directly contradict what the political leaders, reporters and Israeli talking heads claim, and invalidate the logic behind trying to destroy the democratically elected representitives of the Palestinian people.
The article also goes on to report the comments of an Israeli pundit on whether it really even matters if Hamas (or anyone else) refuses to recognise Israel. Fair point, I couldn't see what the fuss was about quite frankly.
"Hamas is clear in terms of the historical solution and an interim solution. We are ready for both: the borders of 1967, a state, elections, and agreement after 10-15 years of building trust," commented Usama Hamdan, the Hamas Chief Representative in Lebanon. (9) Notable here is that his remarks were made in 2003 well before the Hamas victory of January 2006. Indeed, it should be pointed out that most of the on-the-record comments to this effect were made prior to these elections.
In 1989, Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin (assassinated by Israel in March 2004) stated, "I do not want to destroy IsraelÖ. We want to negotiate with Israel so the Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine can live in Palestine. Then the problem will cease to exist." (11)
The hard-line Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, assassinated by Israel in April 2004 commented in 2002 that, "[T]he Intifada is about forcing Israel's withdrawal to the 1967 borders." This "doesn't mean the Arab-Israeli conflict will be over," but rather that the armed resistance to Israel would end." (12)
The source follows :
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein06122006.html
Those quotes directly contradict the assertion that Hamas won't recognise Israel. They also directly contradict what the political leaders, reporters and Israeli talking heads claim, and invalidate the logic behind trying to destroy the democratically elected representitives of the Palestinian people.
The article also goes on to report the comments of an Israeli pundit on whether it really even matters if Hamas (or anyone else) refuses to recognise Israel. Fair point, I couldn't see what the fuss was about quite frankly.