Hamas: Declare Palestinian state from sea to river

[oberliner]

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Hamas rejected the Palestinian Authority's decision to unilaterally declare a state in the West Bank and Gaza, saying it should take over all of Israel.

"(W)hy not declare a Palestinian state from the sea to the river " rather than in the West Bank and Gaza only?" Hamas spokesman Salah Bardweel said Monday, Ha'aretz reported.

His remarks followed declarations over the weekend by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat that the Palestinian Authority would ask the United Nations Security Council to recognize an independent state along the 1967 border lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

"This move is not a meaningful declaration. It simply aims at escaping the benefits of resistance against the occupation," Bardweel said. "Instead of threatening to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state to be established in the air, we should work on liberating the occupied territories and end the current internal division."

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/11/16/1009207/hamas-declare-palestinian-state-from-sea-to-river

[Taverner]

1. Of course - there's good money in killing people! Why would they want that to stop?

Both the Likud and Hamas LOVE war! Its what they get up in the morning for!

They love hearing stories about dead children, especially babies - because all of that means $$$ in their pockets!

I'm surprised Hamas didn't say "The Palestinian state exists all over this great, flat Earth!"

[bstender]

6. practicality is nevertheless essential

to a political movement. most people arent bloodthirsty as you describe, and they form the power base. you must articulate genuine advantage to this base to remain in power. the practical value of belligerence on the Israeli side is sadly inescapable, as the country is entirely based on a colonial logic, its immigrant base accepted that deal and to abandon it appears as suicide. On the Hamas side, their supporters will back what appears to be a valid path to sovereignty. this latest development can be easily characterized as an Israeli ploy, originating in the offices of the collaborators, allowing the "Zionist entity" to carry on concentrating its ethnic identity whilst holding superior military might and avoiding any formal commitment to peace, a suckers bet if you will. not to mention that as Israel is losing world support rapidly and falling back to a two-state status quo allows Israel to maintain a vision of ethnic separation, which plays well to a good percentage of its base these days, without actually calling for it themselves.

[Recursion]

2. Yup. This is why raising up Hamas to counter the more nationalist PLO was a horrible mistake.

And once again, Western use of Islamic extremism comes back to bite us. It will probably take a generation for Hamas to get to the point that the PLO was at before the 2nd intifada.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. The decision in the 80's in both the US and Israel that Religious fundamentalists...

were our natural allies against the Soviets was unwise. Classic Blow-back.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Well, it made perfect sense -

the soviets were godless commies, and who better to combat godless commies than religious fanatics?

[Ozymanithrax]

3. The PA should unilaterally declare a state in the West Bank and Gaza...

I am tired of HAMAS and the Conservative Israeli Government beating the war drums.