Hamas leader refuses to sign pledge against attacks
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said today that fugitives within his Palestinian group would not sign pledges to halt attacks as that would negate the legitimacy of their right to fight the Israeli occupation.
Mashaal, in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials ahead of a historic Israeli-Palestinian summit next week, also denied any links to the al Qaida terror network or Iraqi insurgents groups, saying Hamas is “a nationalist liberation movement” limiting its operations against the Israeli occupation.
The Hamas leader said: “Our battle is inside Palestine with the Israeli occupation. We have no relation with what’s going on in Iraq.
“But we, like all Arabs and Muslims, support the Iraqi people’s right to resist the American occupation.”
Mashaal, who lives in Syria, is attending talks with Egyptian officials and other Syrian-based leaders of the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Cairo to try to secure a Palestinian ceasefire in attacks against Israelis.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions say they will stop attacks on Israelis if Israel stops targeted killings of Palestinian leaders and attacks on Palestinian cities.
Israel had said it would agree to stop hunting fugitives, provided they sign a pledge to halt attacks and hand over weapons.
“We won’t accept that (signing of a pledge) because the Palestinian has carried out his right to defend his people against the occupation,” Mashaal told The Associated Press.
“No Palestinian would accept such signing because he would condemn himself. And this is a legitimate right.”
He said his group is awaiting more details on Israel’s response to his group’s offer for a conditional cease-fire and it would be studied in meetings with Egyptian officials.
“We will discuss the details of the calm or truce – the conditions and the time ceiling – when we see the truth of the Israeli position from the Palestinian conditions,” he said. “We heard some (responses). Not enough. It needs more scrutiny and follow-up.”
In efforts toward a ceasefire, Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners and a military withdrawal from the West Bank town of Jericho within days.
The ministers also approved an earlier decision by the army chief to halt the targeted killings of wanted Palestinian fugitives and agreed to form a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee to decide what to do about them.
Islamic Jihad’s leader Ramadan Shallah, also attending the talks, said the number of those to be released “is unacceptable”.
“The way Israel is dealing with the issue of prisoners is also unacceptable,” he said. “We have one clear and specific demand, that is the release of all prisoners and detainees in (Israeli) prisons…these are freedom fighters.”
Next Tuesday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is hosting a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II to address Israeli-Palestinian issues, including a ceasefire and other aspects of the road map.
Mashaal said the summit shows an increased momentum and regional commitment to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
“There is no doubt a high degree of acceleration in the events,” he said. “The Palestinian issue is a thorny one and many of the regional powers are working to solve it.”
But Mashaal insisted the truce is not a matter of fact, nor is it final. Resistance, he said, is a legitimate right until the Palestinians get their rights.
Mashaal said a number of factors affect the success chances of the summit, including Israel’s fatigue in dealing with the uprising, and whether there is international pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister to ease his grip on the Palestinians.
“We look forward to seeing that there is hope for the Palestinian people to get their rights,” he said.
