Posted on 02/26/2006 6:05:16 AM PST by SJackson
ASSOCIATED PRESS GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip
The Palestinians' incoming prime minister on Sunday said Hamas has no intention of seeking a peace agreement with Israel, distancing himself from a published interview in which he said the group is ready for a deal.
Ismail Haniyeh said Hamas is interested in a long-term truce, but does not seek peace with Israel. "I did not say anything about recognizing Israel," Haniyeh said.
Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, is set to form a new Palestinian Cabinet in the coming weeks after an upset victory in January parliamentary elections. It so far has rejected international calls to moderate itself, despite Western threats to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians.
Haniyeh was quoted by The Washington Post on Saturday as saying Hamas would establish "peace in stages" if Israel would withdraw to its 1967 boundaries - before it captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. It was the first time Hamas has been quoted as seeking peace with Israel.
Addressing reporters Sunday, Haniyeh said his comments had been misunderstood. He said he was not referring to a peace agreement, only a "political truce."
He also laid down a series of demands that Israel has ruled out, including a full withdrawal from all lands captured in 1967, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the return of several million Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel. "Then Hamas can grant a long-term truce," Haniyeh said.
Israel, while accepting the principle of an independent Palestinian state, has said many times that it has no intention of returning to its prewar borders.
It also refuses to release the roughly 8,000 Palestinian prisoners it holds while Palestinian militant attacks persist, and adamantly objects to a large-scale return of refugees, saying it would destroy the country's character as a Jewish democracy.
Haniyeh doesn't speak English, and Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told The Associated Press on Saturday that the prime minister-designate's remarks must have been mistranslated.
While Hamas has refused to renounce its violently anti-Israel ideology since sweeping Palestinian elections last month, it has largely observed a yearlong truce and in the past said it would consider a long-term truce.
In the interview, Haniyeh was evasive when asked abut recognizing Israel and vague about how he envisioned the final borders of a Palestinian state.
Israeli Cabinet officials on Sunday warned the international community against being tricked by Hamas' rhetoric, urging world leaders to judge the group by its actions, not words.
Israel says it will refuse to deal with a Hamas government unless the group recognizes the Jewish state, disarms and accepts past peace accords with Israel.
Until Hamas meets these conditions, "everything else is empty words," said Cabinet Minister Roni Bar-On.
Western threats to cut off aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority could be the most effective tool in coercing Hamas to moderate its anti-Israel position. The Palestinians are heavily dependent on foreign aid.
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'We Do Not Wish to Throw Them Into the Sea' [Jews can take boats]
The Palestinians are heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Why don't they just come out and say it,
the Palestinians are your nephew on CRACK.
It's time for some "tough love"!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1585765/posts
We need to start getting a grip on the lexicon.
It's almost funny. The Washington Post can't even quote their allies accurately.
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