A leading member of the Palestinian Hamas movement has called for a “genuine partnership” with the Palestinian Fatah group – its longstanding rival – against the Israeli occupation.
“Let [the two groups] establish a genuine partnership, far from political wrangling, for the liberation of Palestine,” leading Hamas member Mahmoud al-Zahar said in a Friday speech in the Gaza Strip during a rally held to mark the 27th anniversary of the group’s establishment.
Al-Zahar, however, reiterated Hamas’ rejection of recent statements by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in which the latter voiced readiness to reach a political settlement with the Israelis, the World Bulletin reported.
The envisioned settlement would entail the establishment of a Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders, which account for some 22 percent of historical Palestine, including East Jerusalem (Beit ul-Muqaddas).
According to al-Zahar, however, any settlement that excludes West Jerusalem would be “tantamount to abandoning” the disputed city to Israel.
Al-Zahar urged Arab governments to support the Palestinian resistance against Israel’s decades-long occupation and to work towards lifting the eight-year blockade of the Gaza Strip and expediting reconstruction of the war-battered enclave following this summer’s devastating Israeli offensive.
