Stop the Presses! Hamas has said this all along. It has never wavered. Only in the minds of befuddled Western politicians and analysts, grasping eagerly at straws, has it ever come remotely close to anything that could legitimately be called moderation. From Reuters, with thanks to JE:
ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group will continue to fight Israel and told the United States that its Middle East policy would fuel terrorism.
“Israel cannot have stability with occupation. It has to choose. This is the message Israel should understand,” he told Reuters in an interview in Abu Dhabi.
“Armed resistance is legitimate. All resistance options are open to the Palestinian people and Palestinian factions including Hamas,” said Meshaal, who is touring Arab and Muslim countries to solicit financial and political support.
He said that he informed Arab leaders that the government his group will head needs $1.75 billion per year to make ends meet and that he was confident that they would help….
“So far there has been good commitment that needs to be translated into figures… I am sure that Arab and Islamic support will cover a large part of the Palestinians’ needs. No matter what Israel does and how much pressure the United States applies, I do not think Arabs and Muslims will cave.”
Iran has said it will meet any gap in official funding for a new government once it is formed by Hamas in coming weeks.
I doubt that Meshaal needs to worry. Almost certainly the EU and probably the US will also kick in their jizya payments again, perhaps after a suitable face-saving interval.