Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STOCKHOLM155
2009-03-06 09:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Stockholm
Cable title:
Media Reaction - Interview with Hamas leader by Swedish
how-toVZCZCXYZ0010 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHSM #0155 0650949 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 060949Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4193
UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000155
SIPDIS
SECSTATE FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PPD, EUR/NB, EUR/PA, EUR/FO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PINS PHUM PREF EUN SW
SUBJECT: Media Reaction - Interview with Hamas leader by Swedish
daily
I. On March 5, the conservative Stockholm morning daily "Svenska
Dagbladet" published an exclusive interview with Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal by senior Middle East correspondent Bitte Hammargren
headlined 'We are not against Jews, we are against the occupation':
Bitte Hammargren met with Khaled Mashaal in Damascus following the
Gaza donor conference. In the interview Mashaal claims 'several
European governments' are talking with Hamas behind closed doors.
"But I don't want to name whom, so as not to embarrass them....
On the possibility of a Palestinian coalition government he said:
"We are more than willing for this dialogue to be successful, as
well as achieve agreements about other unsolved issues such as
Palestinian elections, a transformation of the security forces and a
reform of PLO. The problems with the shape of a Palestinian
coalition government are that the rest of the world interferes....
On the issue of the people as he will not shake hands with women for
religious reasons, he says "We within Hamas are not against Jews, we
are against the occupation. We do not fight against Israel because
they are Jews. As Palestinians and Muslims, we believe in all
prophets. Our prophet Mohammed shook hands with Jews. I have shook
hands with many Jewish journalists and prominent Jewish
representatives when they have visited me....
On the United States he says he is upset Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton did not protest the planning of 75,000 new settlements on
the West Bank during her visit and asks why Clinton will not
recognize the 2006 election result. "The United States and the world
community should be ashamed about their double standards. Why do
they place conditions on us but not on Israel? Now Israel is
preparing to tear down an area in Jerusalem, Bustan, with 1,500
inhabitants. But the world is silent....
On the appointment of Special Envoy George Mitchell, Mashaal leaves
the door open but states that: "Does anyone believe that Mitchell
will be successful in the Middle East without talking to Hamas? Did
he succeed as mediator in Northern Ireland without speaking with
Sinn Fein and the IRA?"
Mashaal calls the Syrian approach of indirect peace talks the 'wrong
method'. "You have to attack the reason for the conflict: the
occupation. When the Palestinians hear that the occupation will
end, the resistance will cease....
On what he means by 'accepting the borders of 1967' he says that "In
2006 all Palestinian movements, including Fatah and Hamas, signed a
national reconciliation document. We agreed to create a Palestinian
state in accordance with the borders of 1967, including Jerusalem
and a liquidation of the settlements. But Israel is showing no
willingness to cooperate. They only seek security for themselves.
At the same time they only offer part of the West Bank land. They
are not even willing to offer Palestinian sovereignty, only
autonomy. That does not solve the problem....
SILVERMAN
SIPDIS
SECSTATE FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PPD, EUR/NB, EUR/PA, EUR/FO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PINS PHUM PREF EUN SW
SUBJECT: Media Reaction - Interview with Hamas leader by Swedish
daily
I. On March 5, the conservative Stockholm morning daily "Svenska
Dagbladet" published an exclusive interview with Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal by senior Middle East correspondent Bitte Hammargren
headlined 'We are not against Jews, we are against the occupation':
Bitte Hammargren met with Khaled Mashaal in Damascus following the
Gaza donor conference. In the interview Mashaal claims 'several
European governments' are talking with Hamas behind closed doors.
"But I don't want to name whom, so as not to embarrass them....
On the possibility of a Palestinian coalition government he said:
"We are more than willing for this dialogue to be successful, as
well as achieve agreements about other unsolved issues such as
Palestinian elections, a transformation of the security forces and a
reform of PLO. The problems with the shape of a Palestinian
coalition government are that the rest of the world interferes....
On the issue of the people as he will not shake hands with women for
religious reasons, he says "We within Hamas are not against Jews, we
are against the occupation. We do not fight against Israel because
they are Jews. As Palestinians and Muslims, we believe in all
prophets. Our prophet Mohammed shook hands with Jews. I have shook
hands with many Jewish journalists and prominent Jewish
representatives when they have visited me....
On the United States he says he is upset Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton did not protest the planning of 75,000 new settlements on
the West Bank during her visit and asks why Clinton will not
recognize the 2006 election result. "The United States and the world
community should be ashamed about their double standards. Why do
they place conditions on us but not on Israel? Now Israel is
preparing to tear down an area in Jerusalem, Bustan, with 1,500
inhabitants. But the world is silent....
On the appointment of Special Envoy George Mitchell, Mashaal leaves
the door open but states that: "Does anyone believe that Mitchell
will be successful in the Middle East without talking to Hamas? Did
he succeed as mediator in Northern Ireland without speaking with
Sinn Fein and the IRA?"
Mashaal calls the Syrian approach of indirect peace talks the 'wrong
method'. "You have to attack the reason for the conflict: the
occupation. When the Palestinians hear that the occupation will
end, the resistance will cease....
On what he means by 'accepting the borders of 1967' he says that "In
2006 all Palestinian movements, including Fatah and Hamas, signed a
national reconciliation document. We agreed to create a Palestinian
state in accordance with the borders of 1967, including Jerusalem
and a liquidation of the settlements. But Israel is showing no
willingness to cooperate. They only seek security for themselves.
At the same time they only offer part of the West Bank land. They
are not even willing to offer Palestinian sovereignty, only
autonomy. That does not solve the problem....
SILVERMAN