Mashaal: Pullouts a declaration of war

Heated rhetoric: Hamas politburo chief slams diplomatic plans outlined by Acting PM Olmert, says further unilateral Israeli disengagements would be 'declaration of war against Palestinian people'

News agencies|Last update: 03.10.06 , 15:13

Acting Prime Minister's Ehud Olmert's statements about unilaterally setting Israel's final-status borders by 2010 constitute a "declaration of war," Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal told French news agency AFP on Friday.

"Unilateral Israeli disengagement from Palestinian territories is a declaration of war against the Palestinian people," Mashaal said.

Olmert's Plan

Olmert plans West Bank pullout

Ynet

Acting prime minister tells Jerusalem Post within next four years he intends to ‘get to Israel's permanent borders, whereby we will completely separate from majority of Palestinian population’; vows to resume construction in area between capital, Ma’aleh Adumim

Olmert plans West Bank pullout, J’lem expansion

"Olmert's plan is not a plan of peace, but rather, a declaration of war that would allow Israel to remain in most of the West Bank, maintain the wall of separation and the settlements, refuse any concessions in Jerusalem, and reject the Palestinian right of return," Mashaal said.

"This is a unilateral Israeli move for the sake of its security interests and not for the sake of peace," the Hamas leader added. "Olmert is making the same mistakes towards the Palestinians (ailing Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon made," Mashaal added.

Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar also blasted Olmert over his remarks.

"We are not sort of settlement in our land," al-Zahar said. "We cannot recognize any sort of these borders, especially the borders created by the wall ... separating between our land and our land."

Meanwhile, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Friday urged Israel to return to the bargaining table.

"Israel cannot determine my borders by dictating them to me," he said. "That only prolongs the conflict, rather than solving it."

'Israelis won't live beyond fence'

In an interview with Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published Friday, Olmert said the Palestinians will soon need to decide whether they accept the U.S.-brokered Road Map peace imitative.

"I will wait for this process to come to fruition, but I have no intention to wait endlessly," Olmert said. "If they prefer to be dragged to the axis of evil of Iran, Syria and Hizbullah, and turn the Palestinian Authority into a branch of the Iranian terror regime, we'll have to take our destiny into our own hands and act without them."

"We will change the security fence route westward or eastern in accordance with internal agreement reached in Israel," the acting PM added. "The current fence is a security fence. The fence that will be set up, which in certain sections will be in the form of a wall, will be the borderline separating Israel and the Palestinians."