Hamas Marks 25th Anniversary; Exiled Leader Denounces Israel
“The state will come from resistance, not negotiation,” he said. “Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concession on any inch of the land.”
Meshal used the cease-fire with Israel last month, to claim that Hamas had won a “great victory” which could form the basis of a new Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that would contain all Palestinian factions, the New York Times reported.
In the crowd, which Hamas officials estimated to be at half a million, were some Fatah supporters, who waved their faction's yellow flag. The Guardian reported that the showing of Fatah supporters is one of the increasing signs in recent weeks that reconciliation between the two rival factions could become a more realistic prospect.
The current PLO run by Abbas supports a two-state solution and does not now include Hammas.
The New York Times reported that a PLO based on Hamas principles would “almost surely find itself shunned” by Israel and much of the world
Because of this position, Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the West, which back the rival and more moderate Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Voice of America reported.
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