Statements by Mahmoud Zahar

[Shammu]

Apr. 2, 2006 22:49
'I dream of a map without Israel'
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Newly-installed Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar on Sunday reiterated Hamas's desire to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamic state.

Zahar's remarks, in an interview with the Chinese news agency Xinhua, dispel hopes that Hamas's presence in power would have a moderating effect on its leaders. His statements also stand in sharp contrast with Hamas's attempt to project a conciliatory and pragmatic image following the movement's landslide victory in last January's parliamentary election.

Other Hamas leaders, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, have not ruled out over the past few weeks the possibility of negotiating with Israel or recognizing its right to exist.

"I dream of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it," Zahar said in the interview. "I hope that our dream to have our independent state on all historic Palestine (will materialize)."

This dream, he added, "will become real one day. I'm certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land."

However, Zahar, who is the overall leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said he didn't rule out the possibility of having Jews, Muslims and Christians living under the sovereignty of an Islamic state, adding that the Palestinians never hated the Jews and that only the Israeli occupation was their enemy.

Zahar also said that the new Hamas cabinet might occasionally make contacts with Israel on running the daily affairs of the Palestinians, but stressed that these contacts would never be promoted to political talks.

Urging the international community to respect the Palestinian people's choice, Zahar said the new cabinet should be given a chance to show it was "clean and transparent."

He also called on the US to abandon its long-time partial policy that favors Israel and to refrain from exerting political and economic pressure on the Hamas cabinet.

"There are so many countries which support the Hamas cabinet and its stance," he said, without elaborating. "We will establish diplomatic relations with these countries."

Zahar said that the Hamas cabinet would "reconsider" previous agreements with Israel, noting that Israel had sabotaged these agreements. "Do you want us to repeat the same experience?" he asked.

Asked if Hamas would ever negotiate with Israel, Zahar said: "Israel wants to negotiate only for the sake of negotiations, but on the ground, it expands settlements and continues building the separation fence on Palestinian territories. Israel doesn't want peace, nor does it have any peace project. Therefore, we should not deceive our people and tell them that there will be negotiations."

Zahar said Hamas did not rule out the possibility of accepting a temporary two-state solution, but expressed doubts over whether Israel really wanted to see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

"Does Israel believe in the idea of two states?" he asked. "Israel is deceiving the international community and it actually wants only a Jewish state and it just hopes to see the Palestinians have an autonomous regime."

Later, Zahar's office issued a statement denying that he supported a two-state solution. The statement claimed that Zahar's statements had been "distorted."

Meanwhile, Haniyeh on Sunday attacked the US for its decision to boycott the Hamas cabinet, saying the Palestinians were being punished because of their democratic choice.

"This government was elected in a free and honest election, and according to the democratic principles the American administration is calling for," Haniyeh said.

"We believe this is a punishment of the Palestinian people because of its democratic choice, and at the same time, it increases the people's suffering."

'I dream of a map without Israel'

[Shammu]

Zahar says 'there's no room for Israel on this land'
By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar was quoted in a weekend interview to a Chinese news agency defending Hamas' declared goal of eventually destroying Israel.

Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader sworn into the Palestinian Authority cabinet last week, told the Xinhua news agency that he is certain the goal will be realized, because "there is no place for Israel on this land."

According to the interview, Zahar maintained that Palestinians have no problem with the Jewish religion, only with the Israeli occupation, and said he does not rule out the possibility of Jews, Muslims and Christians living together in one Islamic state.

Zahar, considered to be among the more militant of Hamas leaders sworn into the PA government last Wednesday, conceded to Xinhua that Hamas could possibly accept a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, he dismissed Israel's declared support of such a solution.

Reiterating Hamas' opposition to negotiations with Israel, Zahar told his interviewer, "Israel doesn't want peace nor does it have any peace project. Therefore, we told our people and tell them that there will be no negotiations."

Zahar also called on the international community to accept the Palestinian people's choice of Hamas in the January 25 election swept by the militant group.

The Bush administration insists it would have no dealings with Hamas cabinet ministers because of the organization's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist and embrace international terms for Middle East peace-making.

The Palestinian cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, and endorsed Tuesday by the Palestinian legislature, is made up entirely of Hamas members and independents allied to the militant Islamic organization.

Palestinian prime minister criticizes U.S. for cutting diplomatic ties
The new Palestinian Authority prime minister, Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh, criticized the U.S. on Sunday for restricting diplomatic ties with the Hamas government, saying his people were being punished for electing the militant Islamic group.

On Friday, the U.S. announced that American diplomats have been forbidden to make contact with officials in any Palestinian government agency controlled by Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction. The Islamic group's new Cabinet controls every government ministry.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said diplomats would maintain contact with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and lawmakers from his Fatah movement, which favors peace talks.

"This government was elected in a free and honest election, and according to the democratic principles the American administration is calling for," Haniyeh told a group of supporters who had come to his office to wish his new government well.

"We believe this is a punishment of the Palestinian people because of its democratic choice, and at the same time, it increases the people's suffering," he said.

Zahar says 'there's no room for Israel on this land'