Haniyeh hails Hamas 'victory' on anniversary

Ma'an
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters gathered in Gaza City’s central square on Monday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the of the movement’s founding.

Hamas leader and de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh hailed the gathering a sign of victory over what he said were Israel’s attempts to eliminate the group, including last winter’s three-week war.

"Those who planned the war and executed it did not expect these crowds to come today waving their flags ... Hamas did not collapse after the war; the enemy leaders collapsed," he said.

He also said Hamas would never give in to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, which includes a ban on construction materials need to rebuild from the war, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis also died.

........Haniyeh also criticized the PLO leadership for an expected vote that will unilaterally extend President Mahmoud Abbas’ term without elections.

"We say to PLO Central Council members who will meet tomorrow in Ramallah that any decision that contradicts the constitution and contradicts the will of the people, will not be binding," Haniyeh said.

"Aziz Dweik, would remain as the legitimate head of the Legislative Council until elections are held, free and fair, in light of consensus and national reconciliation," He added, referring to the Hamas-affiliated speaker of the PLC.

Haniyeh said he supported reconciliation with Abbas’ Fatah party, but said Hamas would not succumb to a unity deal enforced through “pressure.”

He also dismissed critics who hold Hamas responsible for the ongoing political split: "We are not striving to form an Islamic emirate in the Strip. Our goal is to free Palestine – all of Palestine."

"Hamas participated in the elections and showed that they have a political system which is loyal and based on accuracy and honesty, in order to rule their own state," he said.

Hamas came to power in parliamentary elections in 2006, and in 2007 violently took full control of the Gaza Strip. The takeover caused Abbas to dissolve a unity government and appoint an unelected caretaker government in the West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Basic Law, Abbas’ term expired in January 2009. The PLO decreed then that he should stay on as president.

New presidential and parliamentary elections planned for January 2010 were indefinitely postponed due to the impossibility of holding a poll in a country ruled by two governments.

In his speech Haniyeh called for a united Palestinian “program” of ending the Israeli occupation, removing Israeli settlements, and establishing a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders. Full story