Hamas government approved, vows to fight Israel
Hamas's Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh (3rd-L) and other Hamas leaders celebrate during a rally after Haniyeh's cabinet was approved by the Palestinian parliament in Gaza March 28, 2006. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
Tue Mar 28, 2006
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - A Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament approved the Islamic militant group's cabinet and program on Tuesday, clearing the way for it to take control of the government two months after its shock election victory.
Chanting "God is Greatest" after the 71-to-36 vote, Hamas lawmakers hugged and kissed a teary-eyed Ismail Haniyeh, the incoming Palestinian prime minister, who vowed not to abandon the fight against Israel.
"The Koran is our constitution, Jihad is our way, and death for the sake of God is our highest aspiration," Hamas lawmaker Hamed Bitawi said.
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters later poured onto the streets of the Gaza Strip in celebratory rallies.
"We cannot recognize Israel," Hamas's newly-approved Minister of Information, Youssef Rizka, told one cheering crowd. "The land of Palestine is ours and not for the Jews."
The comments stood in contrast to a more conciliatory speech by Haniyeh on Monday in which he stressed the new government's push for peace and dialogue. The earlier speech drew fire from some lawmakers for not focusing more on fighting Israel.
The vote of confidence came on the day Israel held a general election that interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was expected to win on a platform of imposing Israel's final borders with the Palestinians if peacemaking remains stalled.
The new cabinet, dominated by Hamas loyalists, was expected to be sworn in on Wednesday by President Mahmoud Abbas, whose long-dominant Fatah faction refused to join the government.
Hamas, committed by its charter to Israel's destruction, inherits an aid-dependent Palestinian Authority that is on the brink of financial collapse.
A threatened cut in Western aid could make it more difficult for Hamas to pay the salaries of an estimated 140,000 Palestinian Authority workers, including security personnel. Aid groups say a funding crisis could lead to chaos and violence.
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posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 12:56 AM
2 Comments:
What do you see as the quickest path to peace in your region?
Chuckdaddy2000 in response to their being a quick way to peace in the region, I can not see one at this time because after all we are dealing with the political machine. The Palestinian people, I do know time and again when their originates a peace plan that should be expectable to both the Palestinian’s and the Israeli’s; the Israel’s refuse.
One thing I feel about the Israel's besides what they are doing, is they have one major problem. They receive in lack of a better term, the largest welfare checks in the world; mostly coming from the United States. In my opinion, they are like the problem the United States had a few years ago with welfare mother’s and illegitimate children. Israel in a since, has a way to keep having children so the checks keep coming. Time they to go to work!
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