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Nations United Against Israel

Hamas walks away with the whole pie

Terror group gains legitimacy, still doesn't recognize Israel


By Ryan Jones
March 05, 2006

Hamas' visit to Moscow at the weekend couldn't have been more successful. The terror group that now controls the Palestinian Authority managed to gain international legitimacy from one of the world's leading powers and held off all efforts to persuade it to drop its core beliefs and recognize the Jewish state.

That is assuming there were any such efforts.

Reuters reports that on Friday:

"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Hamas delegation it must recognise Israel's right to exist and abide by interim peace deals."

But according to Mohammed Nazzal, a senior member of Hamas' delegation who spoke to local reporters in the Russian capital Sunday:

"Russia did not call on us to recognize Israel."

Yevgeni Primakov, a former Russian minister and current Middle East expert, lent credibility to Nazzal's claim when he concurred with the views of Russia's legislature during an interview with Turkey's Zaman online newspaper:

"It would be wrong to disregard Hamas as a terrorist organization. It would also be wrong to ask the faction to admit that Israel is an independent state."

Hamas leader Khaled Mashal also told Reuters he had rebuffed a request by his hosts to disarm the group's "military wing," insisting it must remain intact for future attacks on Israel's Jews.

"We have made clear to the officials in Russia that the armed wing...will resist the occupation [sic] and defend the whole land."

Meanwhile, Hamas, in the words of senior official Abu Marzouk, is "breaking the walls of the siege" imposed on it by Israel, the United States and the European Union.

The terror group will further entrench itself as a legitimate player in world politics during upcoming visits to Turkey and South Africa.

Abu Marzouk said several European nations are also holding behind-the-scenes talks with Hamas, despite the continent's "official" position.

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