[An Nahar] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, on Sunday said it would not back a U.N. membership bid, and warned that no Paleostinian leader had a mandate to sacrifice fundamental Paleostinian rights.Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya, speaking in Gazoo, said the group also continued to support the establishment of a Paleostinian state on any part of "historical Paleostine" but would not seek to disrupt the U.N. bid.
| The observant reader will be pleased to note the map of Palestine at the top of the Hamas logo, above the Al Aqsa mosque. Or perhaps not so pleased, depending on his tolerance for vicious fantasy... |
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
heads to New York to submit a formal bid for U.N. membership for a Paleostinian state on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War.
Speaking to a meeting of the Paleostinian legislative council, Haniya warned that Paleostinian rights must be protected.
"There is no mandate for any Paleostinian leadership to infringe on Paleostinian national rights, nor is there a mandate for any Paleostinian actor to make historic concessions on Paleostinian land or the right of the Paleostinians, foremost among them the right of return," he warned.
"Given this position, we reiterate our rejection of this bid," he added.
But the leader of the Islamist group that rules the Gazoo Strip stressed that Hamas would "not place obstacles in the way of the establishment of a Paleostinian state with full illusory sovereignty."
"We repeat today that we are with the establishment of a Paleostinian state on any liberated part of Paleostinian land that is agreed upon by the Paleostinian people, without recognizing Israel or conceding any inch of historical Paleostine."
Hamas has made clear it will not throw its support behind Abbas's move, but has toed a cautious line, choosing not to condemn the plan directly.
Speaking during the meeting, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said the legislative council should approach the U.N. for recognition of a Paleostinian state on all of "historical Paleostine," including areas now in Israel. He called on the council to "apply for recognition of a Paleostinian state on all the Paleostinian territory and confirmation of the right of Paleostinians to live within the borders of this state."
"We appeal to the U.N. to invalidate the entity that took the decision to establish itself on the land of another," Hayya said, in reference to Israel.
Hayya called on the international community to "apply pressure to ensure the implementation of international resolutions, particularly those that uphold the right of the Paleostinian people to self-determination."
Abbas is expected to present later this week a formal request for U.N. membership of a Paleostinian state on the pre-Six Day War lines, encompassing both Gazoo and the West Bank, including annexed Arab east Jerusalem.
The bid is fiercely opposed by Israel and the United States and has divided much of the international community, with Europe and Washington organizing last-minute diplomacy in an attempt to head off a Security Council vote on the measure.