Hamas: Why is Obama setting preconditions for us?
Group's politburo chief Khaled Mashaal praises US president's Cairo speech, saying 'Obama addressed Hamas with a new language', but also criticizes lack of timetable for vision and different approach to Iran, Hamas
Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal said in an interview published Thursday by the London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, "Obama addressed Hamas with a new language, which we hope will be translated into views and a policy on the ground. We hope he will cancel the conditions set for holding talks with Hamas."
He added that the US leader's "perception regarding the Palestinian state is still vague, due to the fact that he did not address the issue of territory, borders, the capital, the right of return and the timetables for its establishment. These are essential points."
The Hamas politburo chief also said that Obama's speech included "a new and wise language, but the test is not in the language but in its translation to decisions on the ground."
Mashaal said that his organization was in the midst of a difficult period. "We have reached difficult times. This is not an easy stage. Our rights have been violated, and we will present our vision."
The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi daily reported Tuesday that Mashaal planned to deliver his own diplomatic speech following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's anticipated address on Sunday evening.
'Don't compare us to blacks' struggle'
In the interview, the Hamas leader noted that Obama left out the word "terror" when describing the Palestinian resistance.
On the other hand, he complained about the fact that the American president compared the Palestinians' situation to that of black people in the United States and South Africa in the past. According to Mashaal, this was a mistake.
"We in Palestine are facing an occupation," he said. "An occupation must be fought with weapons according to all the criteria of international laws.
"However in the situation of racial separation in the United States they fought against it for civil rights, and this is a big difference between the two situations. Obama's comparison to the situation in South Africa is erroneous, since they used armed resistance there as well as diplomatic means."
The Hamas politburo chief expresses his determination to cooperate, positively, with "any international and regional effort which will lead to a just solution – end the Israeli occupation, achieve the Palestinian people's national rights, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the return of refugees, the removal of settlements and real sovereignty in the ground, on the crossings and in the air."
