RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Meshaal vowed Friday that his organisation would continue to resist Israel and would not compromise its claims to all of historical Palestine.
Keep up the struggle my brothers! I will feast on room service tonight in honor of you!
Speaking from Damascus by telephone, Meshaal addressed thousands of Hamas supporters who had gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah to mark the third anniversary of the deaths of former Hamas leaders Abdel Aziz Rantissi and Ahmed Yassin, who were killed by Israel within weeks of each other in 2004.
Good times...good times.
"Hamas will not back down. We will not give up on a single metre of our homeland," Meshaal said to thunderous applause."We will and we must continue in the path of resistance," he added.
So get used to drowning in raw sewage and not getting paid. Know that I'll be watching it all on Damascus Action News and ordering up more room service. And maybe a massage...in honor of you all, of course.
Earlier this year, in a bid to end a Western-lead aid boycott, Hamas formed a unity government™ with the rival Fatah faction loyal to president Mahmud Abbas. Israel and the West, however, say they remain unconvinced the new government meets international demands for acceptance, including recognising Israel and renouncing violence.
Jeez, can't imagine why...
The crippled and charismatic Yassin founded Hamas in 1987 and remained its spiritual leader until he was killed in an Israeli air strike on March 22, 2004 after praying in a Gaza City mosque. Rantissi, his successor, was killed just four weeks later on April 17, in a second Israeli air strike in Gaza City.
Hot enough for ya, boys?