Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend lambasted several media outlets, including CNN and the New York Times, for reporting that Hamas' new charter signals the group now accepts the existence of Israel and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 5-page programme, a result of four years of internal deliberations, was presented may 1 at a news conference in doha, qatar, by khaled meshaal, the hamas leader in exile.
Last week, Hamas unveiled a series of additions to its charter that expressed support for establishing a provisional Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - seen as a tacit acceptance of Israel.
In 2001, as the Second Intifada erupted, Haniya consolidated his position as one of Hamas' political leaders, third in ranking after Yassin and Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi.
The group maintains a sizeable armed wing in the Gaza Strip since seizing the coastal territory in 2007 from the rival Fatah party, which is based in the West Bank and has fought three wars with Israel. "Victory comes after one more hour of patience", he explained, "and it is my great honour to bear this responsibility as I lead Hamas's Political Bureau".
Gaza has been under blockade by Israel and Egypt for the past decade, imposed to prevent attacks by militants inside the territory.
The worldwide community widely recognizes the area defined by the 1967 borders as the site of a future Palestinian state, sitting alongside Israel in a so-called two-state solution.
It stresses however that its struggle is not against Jews due to their religion but against Israel as an occupier.
Hamas, Which The US Considers A Terror Group, Elects A New Leader
Some analysts say it seems Abbas is seeking to increase financial pressure on Hamas in the impoverished Gaza Strip, but he risks being blamed for worsening conditions in the enclave of two million people.
Hamas stopped short of recognizing Israel in its policy document, stating there would be no "compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and (no) relinquishing (of) any Palestinian rights".
"Hamas murders women and children, it's launched tens of thousands of missiles at our homes, it brainwashes Palestinian kids in suicide kindergarten camps", he added.
Its content will not reassure either the Israelis, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or the global community that Hamas has gone far enough ideologically or politically to become a constructive player in Palestinian politics, or in peace negotiations with Israel. Trump tweeted congratulations on what he called Macron's "big win" and said he looked forward to working with the new French leader.
His late father, Abdul Salam Haniya, was a Palestinian refugee and a fisherman, who escaped with his family from a small town near Ashkelon to the Gaza Strip during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, shortly before the birth of the state of Israel. The qatari al-watan newspaper said the move displayed "political maturity" by hamas while lebanon's pro-hezbollah newspaper portrayed the move as selling out palestinian rights.
Macron takes charge of a nation that, when Britain leaves the European Union in 2019, will become the EU's only member with nuclear weapons and a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Egypt seems to be tightening movement in and out of Gaza.
Ismail Haniya, a former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, could help bring Hamas back into the worldwide conversation.
AAP looks to overcome Arvind Kejriwal-Kapil Mishra tussle, corruption charges
Kejriwal has not spoken about the charges made by Mishra. "Hence, we have demanded his removal" Gupta said. Kejriwal has repeatedly claimed that the AAP's poll debacles have something to do with tampering of EVMs.
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