Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JERUSALEM1046
2006-03-13 15:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jerusalem
Cable title:  

HAMAS POLITICAL 'GUIDELINES' FIRM ON RESISTANCE,

Tags:  PREL PGOV KWBG KPAL IS 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHJM #1046/01 0721542
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 131542Z MAR 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0880
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001046 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: HAMAS POLITICAL 'GUIDELINES' FIRM ON RESISTANCE,
RIGHT OF RETURN


Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Chris Stevens, per reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001046

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: HAMAS POLITICAL 'GUIDELINES' FIRM ON RESISTANCE,
RIGHT OF RETURN


Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Chris Stevens, per reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Palestinian press March 12 carried excerpts of
Hamas' political "guidelines" for the next cabinet, first
published on a Hamas website, which outline the movement's
positions on Palestinian resistance, the inviolability of the
"right of return," and parameters for maintaining the
"tahdiyyah" (calm). (Note: See para. three for unofficial
ConGen-translated version of Hamas text. End note.) The
document also outlines Hamas positions on issues addressed in
PA President Mahmud Abbas' (Abu Mazen's) February 21 letter
to Hamas PM-designate Isma'il Haniyyah: recognition of
Israel, adherence to previous PLO agreements, and
negotiations.


2. (C) Head of the Fatah bloc in the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC) and Fatah's chief negotiator in
recent talks with Hamas regarding government formation, Azzam
al-Ahmad, depicted the guidelies as "theoretical" and
"unrealistic." Fatah PL member Issa Qaraqah (Bethlehem)
March 13 told CnGen Poloff that the Hamas guidelines lacked
a sstainable political and social vision. Qaraqah said that
Israeli A/PM Olmert's reported plan to proeed with
unilateral measures after the March 28 Israeli elections,
which he described as "defacto annexation" and a further
division of Palestinian areas into "cantons," aligns well
with the unilateral vision outlined by Hamas.


3. (SBU) The following is an unofficial ConGen translation
of the Hamas political guidelines:

Begin text.

General Principles:

-- The struggle will continue until we (Palestinians) achieve
our rights.

-- We accept phased solutions provided they are agreed upon
in a national context.

-- Israel is an occupying state.

-- Conditional "hudna" (cease-fire) is one tool and mechanism.

-- The Arab and the Islamic nation is our strategic dimension.

Political Guidelines:

-- Resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people.

-- Resistance is a means and not a goal.

-- Inflexible Israeli positions caused the failure of
previous negotiations.

-- We shall examine any proposed solution to the Palestinian
cause if anybody has such a proposal.

Right of Return:

-- The Palestinian people were forced out of their land and
dispossessed of their property.

-- Right of return is a guaranteed right for all peoples.

-- Right of return is an individual right that cannot be
compromised.

-- Right of return and compensation is an individual right
for all Palestinians.

-- Right of return shall be exercised by returning to the
original lands and property.

-- The return of Palestinians to any liberated lands does not
constitute a compromise of the right of return to the
original lands.

"Tahdiyyah" (Calm):

-- "Tahdiyyah" is a means to achieve national objectives and
not a goal.

-- "Tahdiyyah" does not mean canceling the right to
resistance by all legitimate means and the right to
retaliation for any violations.


-- "Tahdiyyah" is contingent upon a number of conditions. If
these conditions are met, then "tahdiyyah" continues.

Conditions of the "Tahdiyyah":

-- To stop aggression against the Palestinians everywhere.

-- To release all prisoners without exception.

Previous Agreements:

-- Our position regarding previous agreements is contingent
upon furthering the interests of the Palestinian people. We
have the right to consider these agreements in light of these
interests.

Recognizing Israel:

-- Recognizing Israel is not an issue to be tackled by a
single faction or a cabinet. The entire Palestinian people
should address it wherever they are.

Political Negotiations:

-- Negotiations are a means and not an end.

-- Previous negotiations did not achieve the minimal level of
Palestinian peoples' rights.

-- If there is a proposal to meet the rights of the
Palestinian people, the mechanisms of achieving such rights
will be considered.

International Resolutions:

-- We consider the international resolutions to have been
issued on humanitarian and noble grounds.

-- Many of the international resolutions and their
implementation mechanisms did not achieve the rights of the
Palestinian people.

End text.

STEVENS