Hamas Leader Stresses Palestinians' Ownership of Entire Palestinian Lands
News number: 9007271684 16:49 | 2011-11-01

TEHRAN (FNA)- A prominent member of the Palestinian Hamas Movement voiced
his movement's agreement with the establishment of a Palestinian state, but
at the same time rejected any move to surrender the Palestinian territories
to the occupying regime of Israel, stressing that Palestinians are the
owners of entire Palestine and not just a part of it.

Speaking to FNA in Gaza city on Tuesday, Mahmoud al-Zahar pointed to the
Head of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas's UN membership bid and
establishment of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders, and stated
that Hamas supports establishment of such a Palestinian state, no matter it
is within the 1967 borders or even on a palm of the Palestinian lands.

"But, the occupying regime should not be recognized and even a span of
Palestine's soil should not be ignored," Zahar noted.

"If efforts are directed towards establishment of a Palestinian state based
on 1967 borders, we should unify our efforts. Of course this is not our
borders, our borders are well known and cover the entire Palestine and even
more than Palestine," Zahar stated.

Many Palestinian groups have blasted Abbas's unilateral move to win the UN's
acclaim for a Palestinian state, and said he should have discussed the issue
with other Palestinian groups beforehand.

These groups also stress that although establishment of a Palestinian state
is necessary, the 1967 borders are not the borderline of the Palestinian
lands as Palestine means all the lands belonging to the Palestinians,
including the territories occupied in the 1940s.

Also, earlier this month Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei called for holding a free referendum in the entire
Palestinian lands (including those under the Israeli occupation) to
determine the fate of the country, and rejected the plans which envisage
division of Palestine.

"We neither propose dumping the migrant Jews in the sea nor the UN
arbitration, rather our proposal includes a referendum to be participated by
all Palestinians," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing the 5th International
Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada in Tehran at the time.

He also dismissed the West's plots to disintegrate Palestine, and said,
"Today the West is standing on a crossroad and it should either leave its
age-old bullying and recognize the rights of the Palestinians or wait for
harder blows in the near future."