Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday criticized anti-Israel statements made by Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal last week in Gaza City. He said that Hamas had agreed in principle to the two-state solution and thus to Israel’s right to exist.
According to the Turkish daily Hurriyet, Abbas told reporters at the end of a visit in Turkey that he did not accept the idea that the State of Israel would never be recognized, including by Hamas.
“I don’t agree with Khaled Mashaal’s statement on the non-recognition of Israel because we, in fact, recognized it in 1993,” Abbas told reporters in English as he ended a two-day visit during which he met Turkish president Abdullah Gul.
“A four-article agreement between Fatah and Hamas stipulates a two-state vision. And Mashaal approved of this agreement, » he said.
Last Saturday, during his first-ever visit to the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, Mashaal declared during a mass rally marking the 25th anniversary of the Islamist movement’s founding :”We are not giving up any inch of Palestine. It will remain Islamic and Arab for us and nobody else. Jihad and armed resistance is the only way, » adding “we cannot recognize Israel’s legitimacy.
”From the sea to the river, from north to south, we will not give up any part of Palestine — it is our country, our right and our homeland, » he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Abbas for not condemning the statements.
The EU, which lists Hamas as a terror group, on Monday denounced Mashaal’s "inflammatory statements" and called them "unacceptable". "The European Union will never stop opposing those who embrace and promote violence as a way to achieve political goals," the 27-member union said.
According to Israeli press reports, four EU member states had opposed an official condemnation of Mashaal’s incitement-filled speech. Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Ireland reportedly pressured their colleagues to condemn Israel solely for its E1 settlement construction plan at the meeting of the EU Council of foreign affairs in Brussels.
But reportedly after an intervention of Germany and the Czech Republic, the EU added in its conclusions of the meeting a paragraph condemning Hamas leaders for their statements calling for Israel’s destruction.