The Prime Minister of the Palestinian government in Gaza has said that he and his colleagues back the establishment of a Palestinian state on “liberated land”. However, said Ismail Haniyeh, this should not be at the cost of recognising the state of Israel or relinquishing lawful rights over any part of historic Palestine.
Mr Haniyeh told a conference in Gaza that his government is not against a state per se. “The people have been getting killed for more than 60 years in the cause of liberation,” he told delegates. “We say liberation should come first and then the state, because states are not created through UN resolutions or political manoeuvres and compromises, but through steadfastness and resistance.”
The Palestinian cause, he added, is the cause of a nation and Palestinian officials should not be alone in facing American and Zionist policies: “We should invest in the revival of the nation to strengthen our position.”
The solution for the Palestinian cause should be taken away from American and Zionist control and brought back into the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic circles, said the Prime Minister. “We are in favour of dialogue that will lead to a joint strategy regarding Palestine and the nation’s fundamental issues,” he said, “and which will activate the reconciliation agreement [with Fatah] that we signed.”