Russia offers emergency aid to PA
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov makes offer during conference call between Quartet members; Iranian President Ahmadinejad to Hamas leaders: Today the will of the Palestinian nation is the strongest in the Middle East. By voting for Hamas the Palestinian stressed their devotion to the ideal of resistance until their entire land is freed, and the heretics can’t deal with this will
Russia on Monday offered to provide emergency assistance to the Palestinians as part of international humanitarian relief efforts, the Foreign Ministry said.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the offer during a conference call between members of the so-called quartet of Mideast peace negotiators: Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
Meanwhile in Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal not to be concerned over funding.
“If you work for Allah, he will provide for you,” Ahmadinejad said.
Both the president and Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Hamas to continue fighting the “Zionist occupation regime.”
'Allah will provide for you.' Ahmadinejad (left) and Mashaal (Photo: Reuters)
“Based on international law, the future Palestinian government is authorized to fight to liberate the occupied lands, “Ahmadinejad said, adding that “Israel was established on a sad day when the Muslims were asleep, but now they are waking up.”
“Today there is a wave of Islamic awakening and a gradual collapse of western hegemony, and this is the reason the conquerors feel uncomfortable on the occupied lands.”
In an attempt to encourage the Hamas leaders, Ahmadinejad said “Today the will of the Palestinian nation is the strongest in the Middle East. By voting for Hamas the Palestinian stressed their devotion to the ideal of resistance until their entire land is freed, and the heretics can’t deal with this will.”
On Monday the Hamas delegation to Iran met with Khamenei, who said "The only way to succeed is to continue to resist the occupation."
"The Palestinian people knew voting for Hamas marks the continuation of fighting against the Zionist occupation regime," he added.
'It's important to give Hamas a chance'
Iran's spiritual leader backed Mashaal's position, which rejects recognition of Israel, and demanded Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
"This is the only way to succeed," Khamenei said.
Khamenei also called on Arab countries to assist the new Hamas-led government and back its refusal to recognize Israel.
"Such support will boost the link between Muslims and Palestinians and have great influence on the world, while also boosting the moral of those facing Israel's systematic belligerence," he said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked Monday with other would-be Mideast peacemakers about the financial situation of the Palestinian territories after the Israeli Cabinet halted the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money to Palestinians.
Later in the day, Rice was traveling to the Mideast in an effort to solidify Arab allies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to send Hamas a message to moderate its views and to seek unity against helping fund the militant Islamic Palestinian leadership if it does not.
Monday's conversations between Rice and representatives of Russia, the European Union and the United Nations "covered issues of support to the Palestinian people," State Department spokesman Noel Clay said.
He added that those representatives "took note of the Israeli Cabinet's statement of yesterday and particularly its intention to discuss with donors the continuation of humanitarian support."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday that Hamas can help resolve its problems by choosing moderation and a peaceful approach.
"You cannot be a partner for peace if your policy is the destruction of Israel, and if your policy is based on the use of terror and violence," McClellan said. "That's why the Quartet called on Hamas to renounce violence, to disarm, and to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. Hamas needs to make the decision if they want to be a partner in peace.
"You can't get to the two-state vision that the president outlined if both parties aren't going to be a partner in peace," he said.
Rice arrives in Egypt on Tuesday on a mission to enlist support in the Arab world to isolate Hamas,
The state news agency, quoting an Egyptian diplomatic source, said: "Egypt will assert during the talks (with Rice) that it is important to give the Hamas movement a chance and time when it forms the government and not to rush to make judgments on it."
President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview with Israeli television last week that withdrawing financial support would be a mistake because it would drive Palestinians to "extremism."
