Hamas rejected Arab initiative for it recognizes Israel: Spokesman

Hamas-led Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said Monday that Hamas didn't accept the Arab peace initiative because it calls for recognizing Israel, asserting they would never recognize the Jewish state.

Moreover, Hamad hinted that Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) would never meet any pressure to recognize Israel, and it prefers to give up governing than recognizing the Jewish state.

"The issue of sitting on power is not a victory and Hamas has no intention to recognize Israel regardless the results," said Hamad.

Hamad was defying international demands to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by regional peace deals.

The Middle East Quartet urged Hamas to accept these demands in order to get an embargo and Western sanctions on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) lifted.

"Hamas movement will not comply with interior or exterior pressures to accept the Quartet's conditions," added Hamad.

The Palestinian factions, including Hamas, agreed on a plan of two-state solution in a bid to overcome international pressure, but the issue of recognizing Israel still forming a point of disagreement. The same controversial point also delayed the formation of a national unity government.

"We agreed on all Prisoners' Document except the issue of Arab Peace initiative because it asked all factions to recognize Israel before joining the government of national unity," Hamad clarified.

Late last month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said talks with the governing Hamas to form a coalition government have gone back to zero.

But Hamad denies, saying that "we can't say talks have declined to zero," he added that "great efforts were being made to establish the new government." However, he didn't give a time when the government would come into existence.

"Calling for urgent understandings between Hamas and Fatah movements to tackle internal problems," Hamad warned from increasing levels of poverty, unemployment and disorder in the occupied Palestinian Territories.

Hamad, meanwhile, criticized the one-month long public strike by unpaid governmental employees and chaotic actions by striking security members which sparked deadly clashes that left nine Palestinians killed.

The employees have not been paid regularly since Hamas-led government took office in last March. Instead, the government paid loans and partial advanced payments.

Furthermore, Hamad dismissed threats by Israel to unleash a large-scale military operation in Gaza Strip if the Palestinians didn't free the Israeli soldier they captured last June.

"The military solution will not be useful for the state of occupation, and Israel has to meet the conditions of the factions that seized Corporal Gilad Shalit in order to restore him back," said Hamad.

Captors of Shalit, led by Hamas, demand a prisoner swap to exchange him with a number of the 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

After the capture of Shalit, Hamad said Israel has turned Gaza into a large prison, devastated vital facilities and bridges, and killed hundreds of Palestinians without getting their objectives done.

Source: Xinhua