Israel Matzav

Great news: Hamas says it's joining the PLO to 'keep it true to its mission'

No, I'm not traveling. This has been a crazy day because one of my kids is at an activity outside the city, and not only did I drive him this morning, but apparently I will have to pick him up as well.

Hamas has said that it is joining the PLO to keep the rival terrorist organization 'true to its mission.'

Hamas is joining the PLO not as a result of a change in its ideology but because it wants the PLO to stick to its original platform – liberating Palestine and achieving the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees, Hamas leaders explained over the weekend.

The Hamas leaders’ clarifications came in response to claims that Hamas’s decision to join the PLO was a sign the Islamist movement was moving toward moderation and would abandon its radical ideology.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other radical Palestinian groups agreed on Thursday to join a provisional leadership of the PLO that would look into ways of “activating and reconstructing” the Fatah-dominated organization.

...

Hamas and Islamic Jihad are demanding the PLO reconsider its political strategy by scrapping the Oslo Accords and its recognition of the two-state solution.

Hamas’s “foreign minister” Osama Hamdan, said the decision to join the temporary PLO leadership did not mean Hamas would become part of the peace process with Israel.

“Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions and now accepts the PLO’s defeatist political program is living in an illusion,” Hamdan stressed. “Hamas cannot make the mistake of joining a process that has proved to be a failed one over the past 20 years.”

He was quoted by the Quds Press news agency as saying Hamas’s decision to be part of a provisional PLO leadership was aimed at “reconstructing the organization and reconsidering its political program.”

Hamdan emphasized that Hamas remains committed to fulfilling the aspirations of Palestinians, “first and foremost the liberation of our lands from the sea to the river and achieving the right of return.”

It will be interesting to see who in the West will continue to pour money into this 'reconstituted' PLO. I'll bet that the US and the EU both will continue to do so.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, PLO

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:12 PM