ISRAEL: After Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told a mass rally in Gaza he would never recognise Israel, a spokesman for Israel's prime minister says this kind of extremism will not help peace

Record ID: 397624

  • Title: ISRAEL: After Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told a mass rally in Gaza he would never recognise Israel, a spokesman for Israel's prime minister says this kind of extremism will not help peace
  • Date: 8th December 2012
  • Summary: REUT, ISRAEL (DECEMBER 8, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER'S SPOKESMAN MARK REGEV SPEAK TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER'S SPOKESMAN, MARK REGEV, SAYING: "Today we heard from Hamas in Gaza a hateful and extremist message, a message that says no to peace and no to reconciliation, a message that says every Israeli man, woman and chil
  • Embargoed: 23rd December 2012 12:00
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  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6R8W7OSUXACWGLD48L5B9G3OD
  • Story Text: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in a defiant speech during his first ever visit to Gaza, told a mass rally on Saturday (December 8) he would never recognise Israel and pledged to "free the land of Palestine inch by inch".
    A spokesman for Israel's prime minister condemned the comments and said they were an obstacle to peace.

    "Today we heard from Hamas in Gaza a hateful and extremist message, a message that says no to peace and no to reconciliation, a message that says every Israeli man, woman and child is a legitimate target. That sort of extremism won't help peace, the opposite is true. And I would ask the Palestinian president, Mr. Abbas, if you see Hamas as a political partner, what does that say about your dedication to peace," Mark Regev said. "We heard a very crystal clear message of hate that Israel should be destroyed, that the Jewish state should be wiped out of the map."
    Meshaal is seen 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.
    Hamas kicked Fatah out of the Mediterranean enclave after a brief civil war and all attempts to reconcile the two groups have failed so far.
    While Hamas rejects dialogue with Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud 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.
    Meshaal, born in the West Bank in 1956, left with his family for exile in 1967 after Israel captured the territory.
    He now spends his time between Cairo and Qatar, and was expected to cross back into Egypt on Sunday or Monday to resume his position as Hamas's key point person with foreign donors.
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