Hamas Leader: We Won’t Recognize Israel, We’re Debating When To Wipe It Out
The Gaza-based leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas publicly rejected demands from Israel and the United States that it disarm and recognize the Jewish state, saying that the organization is only debating “when to wipe out Israel.”
“Over is the time Hamas spent discussing recognizing Israel. Now Hamas will discuss when we will wipe out Israel,” leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly told a Gaza youth roundtable.
“No one in the universe can disarm us. On the contrary, we will continue to have the power to protect our citizens,” Sinwar said, according to an official Hamas statement. “No one has the ability to extract from us recognition of the occupation.”
Hamas and Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, reached a reconciliation agreement last week. U.S. Mideast peace envoy Jason Greenblatt said in response that “Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognize the State of Israel, accept previous agreements and obligations between the parties – including to disarm terrorists – and commit to peaceful negotiations.”
But Sinwar dismissed that notion. “Disarming us is like Satan dreaming of heaven. No one can take away our weapons,” he said.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!