Haniyeh tells Abbas not to beg for Palestinian state

Palestinians should liberate their land, not beg for recognition at the United Nations, the Islamist group Hamas said on Friday, firmly rejecting President Mahmoud Abbas's quest for statehood at the UN General Assembly.

Speaking hours before Abbas was due to ask formally that the United Nations recognise a Palestinian state, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this would not bring independence. "Our Palestinian people do not beg for a state. ...States are not built upon UN resolutions. States liberate their land and establish their entities," said Haniyeh. (Reuters)