I have noted many times that no negotiated settlement is possible in Israel because of the intransigence that stems from the doctrine of jihad. Exhibit A this afternoon is Hamas leader Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar. “An Interview with Hamas Leader Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar,” from MEMRITV, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
The following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar that appeared in Asharq Al Awsat on August 18, 2005….
Q: “Will Hamas continue the resistance after the disengagement plan is implemented?”
A: “Our plan is not to liberate the Gaza Strip, nor is it to liberate the West Bank or to liberate Jerusalem. Our plan in the first stage is to liberate the lands occupied in 1967. Those who view it as a strategic solution and those who view it as an interim solution have agreed upon this plan. Therefore, we will not take over the Gaza Strip and live there peacefully while the Zionist enemy is detaining thousands of our sons and occupying the West Bank. The resistance must move to the West Bank to expel the occupation.”…
Q: “Will Hamas resume its operations in Israeli towns after the withdrawal?”
A: “Firstly, there are no Israeli towns. These are settlements. If the aggression and occupation continue, the Palestinian people will have no alternative but to defend themselves. The Palestinian people are not killing the occupiers or being killed out of fun or madness. The life spent by our generation in killing, imprisonment, and exile is not the life that we want for our sons. We want them to live in security and peace and to live in a homeland in which they are able to move and not to live as slaves of the Israeli enemy.”
Q: “In other words, the resistance of Hamas in the future will be in response to Israeli actions.”
A: “No, our position depends on two things: the withdrawal from the Palestinian territories and the extent of the aggression against the Palestinian people.”
Our Position Stems from Our Religious Convictions
Q: “You talk about attacks on the Palestinian territories as if you recognize the existence of Israel.”
A: “I strongly disagree with your statement. We do not and will not recognize a state called Israel. Israel has no right to any inch of Palestinian land. This is an important issue. Our position stems from our religious convictions. This is a holy land. It is not the property of the Palestinians or the Arabs. This land is the property of all Muslims in all parts of the world. We regard the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, and the West Bank as a geographical unit, as mentioned by resolutions 242 and 338, which have not been implemented. We are currently talking about this area.”
Read it all.