Hamas will refuse to disarm, says Meshaal

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Khaled MeshaalmeshaHamas chief Khaled Meshaal on Thursday rejected any attempt to disarm his Palestinian Islamist movement in Gaza as demanded by Israel, saying the group’s weapons were “sacred”.

“The weapons of the resistance are sacred and we will not accept that they be on the agenda” of future negotiations with Israel, Meshaal told a news conference in Doha where he lives in exile.

Israel has consistently linked the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, devastated during its 50-day offensive on Gaza that ended on Tuesday, to the demilitarisation of Hamas.

But Meshaal insisted that Hamas will not lay down its arms.

“The issue is not up for negotiations. No one can disarm Hamas and its resistance,” he said of the Palestinian fighters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hamas achieved none of its demands by the time a “permanent” ceasefire came into effect at 1600 GMT Tuesday.

Under the Egyptian-sponsored deal, Israel will ease restrictions on the entry of goods, humanitarian aid and construction materials into Gaza, and it extended the offshore area open to Palestinian fishermen.

But talks on crunch issues such as Hamas’s demands for a port and an airport and the release of prisoners, as well as Israel’s calls to disarm Palestinian groups, will be delayed until negotiators return to Cairo within the coming month.

Both Israel and Hamas have hailed the truce as a “victory”.

The seven-week Israeli offensive on the coastal enclave claimed the lives of at least 2,140 Palestinians and 64 soldiers and six civilians on the Israeli side.

Ahram/ AFP

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3 responses to “Hamas will refuse to disarm, says Meshaal”

  1. Maborlz Ez-Hari Avatar
    Maborlz Ez-Hari

    Sounds like his twin Hassan, reading the same script, singing the same song and playing the same game. The bullshit continues and isreal will retaliate again and again the defenceless innocents will pay the price.

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    ALL BOW TO THE WEAPON

  3. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Rambling around ‘the net’ world, we can see that truly everyone has gone stark raving ‘MAD’ (exception me) – and now there are Jews against Zionists, Zionists against Jews and against Muslims, who in turn are against other Muslims and Jews and Zionists and Christians – who return all the favours AND who are against Communists … and Communists against anything that doesn’t pay. Tibet was looking nice until the Dali Lama got booted. And the Philippines were an idea until the oceans rose.
    Hmmmmm …….
    Maybe the ‘Outback’ of Australia is not a bad idea … still lots of space there where a few ‘good souls’ can avoid the crowds for a while, and I might have just enough years left …. wonder if I can convince a sweet Virgo and a Hind to fly some friendly skies for 24 hrs … without fighting or smoking in the toilet; and then Barabie can drive over to the cave I’m setting up and join us in a pool which, unlike Geo’s, has no coconut trees to mess it up for the nude swimmers, and just miles and miles of sand that the Virgo can play in while we swim.
    Seems they liked to mention Frogs a while back … hmmmm … I’ll try again.
    KISS ME LADIES, I’m Really a Prince.

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