GAZA: Hamas' leader Khaled Meshaal scorns Israel at a rally in Gaza to mark the end of decades of exile, but calls for Palestinian unity

Record ID: 213819

  • Title: GAZA: Hamas' leader Khaled Meshaal scorns Israel at a rally in Gaza to mark the end of decades of exile, but calls for Palestinian unity
  • Date: 8th December 2012
  • Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (DECEMBER 08, 2012) (REUTERS) THOUSANDS OF HAMAS SUPPORTERS IN GAZA CELEBRATE BODY'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY HAMAS POLITICAL LEADER KHALED MESHAAL SITTING AT PODIUM, NEXT TO HIM FROM THE RIGHT HAMAS OFFICIAL MUHAMMED NASSER AND FROM THE LEFT HAMAS GAZA LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEH, MESHAAL'S DEPUTY MUSSA ABU MARZOUQ AND HAMAS OFFICIAL IZZAT RISHEQ PEOPLE WATCHING CELEBRATION FROM BALCONIES, WAVING EGYPT FLAG MORE OF HAMAS OFFICIALS WITH MESHAAL AT PODIUM PEOPLE WAVING HAMAS FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMAS POLITICAL LEADER, KHALED MESHAAL, SAYING: "Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the north to the south is our land and our right and out nation, no concession on an inch or part of it." MORE OF PEOPLE WAVING HAMAS AND PALESTINIAN FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMAS POLITICAL LEADER, KHALED MESHAAL, SAYING: "It is impossible to recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, (there is) no legitimacy for occupation, therefore there is no legitimacy for Israel, no matter how long it will take. Palestine is ours and not for the Zionists." VARIOUS OF CELEBRATION SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMAS POLITICAL LEADER, KHALED MESHAAL, SAYING: "Today is the winning day and the day of dignity, and the step that Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) took at the United Nations is a small political step, but it is good and we need it next to the one in Gaza and to support the Palestinian Unity and to help the national plan to get back the land and Jerusalem and the right of return and hold on the resistance without wavering on any part of Palestine." MORE OF CELEBRATIONS VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS WAVING FLAGS OF MANY COUNTRIES
  • Embargoed: 23rd December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Gaza
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADU5XYKGVQ8WPSVTE9NX5JR4N2
  • Story Text: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in an uncompromising speech during his first ever visit to Gaza after decades of exile, told a mass rally on Saturday (December 8) he would never recognise Israel.

    "Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the north to the south is our land and our right and out nation, no concession on an inch or part of it," he said.
    A sea of flag-waving supporters filled wasteland in Gaza city to hear his fiery speech at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of his Islamist group, which has ruled Gaza - a small splinter of coastal land - since 2007.
    At least 200,000 Palestinians attend the outdoor event, which is likely to be used by Meshaal to promote Hamas's growing stature in the Arab world and push the case for reconciliation with its secular political rival, Fatah, which governs the West Bank.

    "It is impossible to recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, (there is) no legitimacy for occupation, therefore there is no legitimacy for Israel no matter how long it will take. Palestine is ours and not for the Zionists," Meshaal said in his speech.
    Meshaal, 56, is on his first visit to the Gaza Strip and was moved to tears on Friday by the ecstatic reception he received from flag-waving crowds as he toured the tiny territory, which is home to 1.7 million Palestinians.
    His trip comes just two weeks after Hamas fought an eight-day conflict with Israel that killed some 170 Palestinians and six Israelis and ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
    Hamas claims it won the conflagration. Israel disputes this, saying it not only killed the Islamist group's military commander but also caused significant damage to its arsenal of rockets. The Israeli media largely ignored his visit to Gaza.
    Meshaal is viewed as more moderate than many other Hamas officials, and although he stuck to the group's hard line on Israel, he held out the chance of reconciliation with the rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which holds sway in the West Bank.

    "Today is the winning day and the day of dignity, and the step that Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah party) took at the United Nations is a small political step, but it is good and we need it next to the one in Gaza and to support the Palestinian Unity and to help the national plan to get back the land and Jerusalem and the right of return and hold on the resistance without wavering on any part of Palestine," Meshaal added.
    There is no denying the fighting boosted Hamas's standing in the region, winning it the support of Arab neighbours, many of whom used to treat the group as a pariah before the Arab Spring uprisings ushered in several sympathetic Islamist governments.
    The rally commemorates the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas and the start of the first Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, against Israel in December 1987.
    Local Fatah leaders attended - the first time Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's faction has taken part in such an event since at least 2007, when it fought a brief civil war with Hamas in Gaza that was won by the Islamist group.
    While Hamas rejects dialogue with Israel, Abbas and his Fatah party say they want a negotiated deal based on the lines that existed before the 1967 war, when Israel took the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
    Israel unilaterally left Gaza in 2005, but still imposes a land and sea blockade that it says is necessary to prevent arms smuggling. It continues to occupy the West Bank and has annexed East Jerusalem - a move not recognised internationally.
    Hamas's charter calls for the destruction of Israel but its leaders have at times indicated a willingness to negotiate a prolonged truce in return for a return to 1967 lines - something Meshaal made no mention of at Saturday's event.
    Israel tried and failed to assassinate Meshaal in 1997 and has largely ignored his visit to Gaza. However, Israeli officials ridiculed the anniversary commemoration.
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