Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday it was too early for Hamas fighters to join Palestinian security forces although the movement would lead the next government. "It is too early to talk about this because there is a continued occupation and aggression against the Palestinian people," Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza.
According to Reuters, Haniyeh spoke after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked him to form a cabinet at a meeting held in Gaza.
He added that Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, would study a letter Abbas gave him bidding the movement to honour past accords with Israel, before issuing a response.
Iran visit
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal stated on Tuesday that negotiations with Israel under current circumstances were a "waste of time," and that Hamas would be willing to talk with its neighbor the moment Israel "recognizes the Palestinian people and withdraws from occupied territories."
Mashaal made the statements during talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran.
He also added that Hamas was not threatened by Israel's decision to withhold tax money it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, since Muslim countries would compensate for the lost revenue.
“We will be compensated through the support we will get from the Arab and Islamic world,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Mashaal that there was no reason to worry about funding.
“If you work for Allah, he will provide for you,” Ahmadinejad said, adding, “Based on international law, the future Palestinian government is authorized to fight to liberate the occupied lands."
“Israel was established on a sad day when the Muslims were asleep, but now they are waking up.”
“Today there is a wave of Islamic awakening and a gradual collapse of western hegemony and this is the reason the conquerors feel uncomfortable on the occupied lands,” he explained.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
