Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement President of the Political Bureau of Hamas Khaled Mashal held a press conference in Qatar's capital Doha. Mashal has made statements about the new political document and vision that will define Hamas' policies.

Mashal said that the political document started to be prepared 4 years ago and that 2 years of intensive work has been carried out. He said that all the leaders of the documentary Hamas reflect the common view of all institutions both inside and outside.

Emphasizing that the document, which consists of 42 articles, will be the reference book of those who want to understand Hamas' thought and politics, Mashal said that the documentary movement proved to be open to innovations.

In the first article of the document, Hamas has introduced itself as ”The Islamic Resistance Movement ‘Hamas’ is a Palestinian Islamic national liberation and resistance movement. Its goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project. Its frame of reference is Islam, which determines its principles, objectives and means”. Mashal about it said, “Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood intellectually, but we are an independent Palestinian organization.”

Mashal said that the establishment of a Palestinian state within the borders of 1967 does not mean make concessions of Palestinian rights, “Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus,” certainly does not mean that the Zionist organization is recognized and conceded to Palestinian rights. Hamas is open to dialogue and to life with someone else,” said Khalid Mashal.

Noting that Palestinian divisions, particularly the declaration of Balfour, and the establishment of Israel are invalid, Mashal said that Oslo agreements are unacceptable that harm the interests of the Palestinian people.

“Hamas is fighting the occupying Zionists”

Related to Hamas’s official call for the fight to destroy of israel they have maintained so far, Mashal said, “Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the zionists who occupy Palestine.”

“Anti-Jewishness is related to European history”

In addition, Mashal added that anti-Jewish opposition in the region is related to European history, not to the history of Arabs and Muslims.

It is remarked in the documentary that Palestine is an Arab and Islamic land and the indivisible integrity of which is stated, “The displacing of the Palestinian people from their territory and the construction of Zionist formations in these regions, does not harm the right of the Palestinian people in this land, and do not give right to usurper zionists to have rights on these lands.”

“Hamas believes that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. It provides an umbrella for the followers of other creeds and religions who can practice their beliefs in security and safety and that Palestine is a model in which people live in tolerance. Hamas knows that the message of Islam upholds the values of truth, justice, freedom and dignity and prohibits all forms of injustice and incriminates oppressors irrespective of their religion, race, gender or nationality. Islam is against all forms of religious, ethnic or sectarian extremism and bigotry. It is the religion that inculcates in its followers the value of standing up to aggression and of supporting the oppressed; it motivates them to give generously and make sacrifices in defence of their dignity, their land, their peoples and their holy places,” said in the document.

“Not one stone of Jerusalem can be surrendered or relinquished”

It is emphasized in the document that the Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, and said, “Its religious, historic and civilizational status is fundamental to the Arabs, Muslims and the world at large. Its Islamic holy places belong exclusively to the Palestinian people and to the Arab and Islamic Ummah. Not one stone of Jerusalem can be surrendered or relinquished. The measures undertaken by the occupiers in Jerusalem, such as Judaization, settlement building, and establishing facts on the ground are fundamentally null and void.”

The documentary touched upon the role of the Palestinian administration, referring to the independence of the decisions to be taken and the lack of reliance on outer circles.

Mashal said Hamas rejects all attempts to erase the rights of the refugees, including the attempts to settle them outside Palestine and through the projects of the alternative homeland. They are to receive compensation upon their return and this does not negate or diminish their right to return.

ILKHA