Egypt FM to US: Recognize Palestine State The Egyptian foreign minister has called on the US to recognize Palestinian state, as Palestinian factions were preparing to sign a unity deal.
Nabil al-Arabi urged the visiting US Congressman Steve Chabot on Sunday to “press Washington to recognize Palestine as a state” in line with previous statements by the US administration about a two-state solution, Egypt's official news agency, MENA, quoted him as saying.
The issue came into view as Hamas political leader, Khaled Meshaal, will meet Fatah leader and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on May 4 to sign the Egyptian-brokered deal.
The Palestinian movements, which have been at odds since Hamas came to power in 2006, reached an initial agreement on all controversial issues, including the elections and the formation of the interim unity government. They have also agreed to hold the elections within one year.
Hamas has vowed that the reconciliation deal will stay in place despite all the pressure from the US and Israel, which have been campaigning to prevent the recognition of a Palestinian state that includes the resistance movement.
Zahar Doesn’t Trust UN to Grant Palestinian State
Asked whether Hamas supports Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's September initiative to seek statehood in the United Nations, Zahar said, "First of all, we don't trust what is called the international community."
Zahar called the very suggestion that statehood could be handed to Palestinians by a world body an "imaginary question." By entertaining the question, he said, "you are [giving] the impression that something can be achieved." Hamas, he added, has serious doubts about the very line of argument.
Although, the senior Hamas official said his group has no hopes for Palestinian statehood derived from the United Nations, he said that if the UN does follow through with Abbas' initiative, "we will discuss that and declare our state."
Listing instances of Palestinian disappointment in recent years, Zahar said, "[former US president George W.] Bush promised the Palestinians an independent state ... [US President Barack] Obama came in order to give the Palestinians just the basic demand - to stop the settlements - and he failed."
Questioned as to whether Hamas is willing to accept the existence of the Zionist entity, Zahar countered: "The question is whether Israel is ready to accept the Palestinian state. Is Israel ready to accept the right of the Palestinian people to come back to their homeland?"
He added "these imaginary questions will not be answered."
On the Syrian issue, Zahar declared, "will be decided by the Syrian people." He described Hamas' position in Arab countries that host it as "guests," he added that if the Syrian people decide to bring about regime change "by agreement or by force, we are not interfering. Half a million Palestinian people live in Syria," he said, "we will not interfere."
Discussing the recently-announced reconciliation agreement between Hamas and rival Fatah, Zahar addressed the details of future security arrangements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Hamas, he said, will continue to control security affairs in the Strip - and Fatah in the West Bank - but the yet-to-be-formed interim government that includes both Fatah and Hamas, "will lead the policy in the West Bank and in Gaza." In the first year of the agreement, he added, "security affairs will [remain as they are] in the status quo. But security policy will be controlled by the government."
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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