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Hamas praises Qatari stand at Munich conference

February 10, 2015 at 11:46 am

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has praised the stand taken by the government of Qatar at the international Munich Security Conference. Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Attiya responded “courageously” to the claim made by Israel’s Minister of Intelligence Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, it was reported by Al-Sharq newspaper on Monday. The Israeli minister accused Qatar of supporting terrorism by its support of Hamas.

Al-Attiya insisted that the “major issue” behind all the turbulence in the Middle East is “that we are lagging behind on the peace process” in Palestine-Israel. Steinitz asked why Qatar “is supporting a Jihadist organisation like Hamas or Islamic State, instead of putting all its efforts into eliminating such jihadi organisations, whether they are working in Iraq, Gaza, Africa or elsewhere.”

In response, the Qatari minister insisted that his country does not support any terrorist organisation, even the Islamic State. “We are part of the international alliance against ISIS,” he reminded participants at the conference.

“Hamas is not a terrorist group,” he continued. “The movement has two main wings. One is social and political; the other focuses on resistance. If [Israel] ends the occupation, Hamas will not have to resist the occupation. It is a liberation movement.”

The Qatari minister reminded everyone that Israeli aggression has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians and destroyed whole neighbourhoods. “A 6-year old in Gaza has witnessed three fierce Israeli wars during his or her lifetime,” he said. Because Israel has not been able to overcome Hamas despite launching three wars against the people of Gaza over the past few years, it really has no choice but to talk with the Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic movement.

In reply to Steinitz about Israel’s demand to be recognised as a Jewish state, Al-Attiya asked, “The world is fighting a group calling itself Islamic State, and you want to come and say [that you are] a Jewish state?”

Closing his contribution to the conference, Ambassador Al-Attiya condemned the January attacks in France, which were described as an attack on freedom of speech. However, he said that there are more than 1.5 billion Muslims in the world and mocking Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) goes beyond freedom of speech.