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Hamas wants backers to send arms, fighters, money
Wed 10 May 2006 2:55 PM ET
(Adds cleric, background)
DOHA, May 10 (Reuters) - Palestinian militant group Hamas urged supporters around the world on Wednesday to send it arms, fighters and money to back its fight against arch-foe Israel. "We ask all the people in surrounding Arab countries, the Muslim world and everyone who wants to support us to send weapons, money and men," Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal said in a speech at a pro-Palestinian event in Qatar.
"You should not shy away from of this. This is resistance, not terrorism," said Meshaal whose group -- sworn to the destruction of Israel -- leads the Palestinian government.
Prominent Muslim cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi told the event Muslims should boycott banks refusing to transfer funds to the Palestinians after Washington said it could penalise banks that help provide money to the Hamas-led government.
"We call on Muslims to boycott banks that do not transfer money to the Palestinians. The boycott would force them to cooperate," he told participants, referring to banks in Jordan and Egypt which he did not identify.
Hamas, which has carried out about 60 suicide bombings against Israel since a Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000, won elections in January and formed its first government in March.
Hamas, which has largely abided by a ceasefire for more than a year, has been under increasing Western and Israeli financial pressure to recognise the Jewish state, abandon armed struggle and accept interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals.
Kathianne said:Agreed, but they will.
Giving Hamas handouts does NOT make sense.GunnyL said:More than likely because not enough people will let it be known that aiding a KNOWN terrorist organization will result in not getting votes.
Sorry, but THAT is what the current government of Palestine is ... a KNOWN terrorist organization.
We're at war with terrorism no matter who or where last I heard. Giving them handouts makes sense.
GunnyL said:Sorry, but THAT is what the current government of Palestine is ... a KNOWN terrorist organization.
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HopeandGlory said:Hear, Hear!
I feel exactly the same. I hate that a proportion of the taxes I pay go towards funding this abomination.
There should be questions and enquiries into what Fatah did with all the money it used to recieve. Like to bet the actual people didn't get one red cent or penny?
What didn't get funnelled into their Swiss Bank Accounts was spent on bl**dy guns!
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to GunnyL again.GunnyL said:Hardly surprising. Look at what they ask for in the orginal post ... weapons, money and men.
I'd love to send them a "weapon" --- one that detonates upon opening the crate.
Administration officials said Friday the decision was made after a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer. A senior State Department official said the agency will now direct the funds to "high-priority projects elsewhere." The official said the decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance to Gaza, where "Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation."
Men wave national flags while riding a motorcycle loaded with tires to be burned during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Aug. 3, 2018. Gaza's Hamas rulers led several thousand Palestinians in a protest along the frontier with Israel.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, seized the coastal territory in 2007 from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. That led to Israel and Egypt placing severe economic restrictions on the region. Israel says the economic blockade is needed to contain Hamas, a militant group that seeks Israel's destruction. It has greatly harmed Gaza's economy but failed to oust Hamas or ease the group's hold on power. Hamas, which doesn't recognize Israel, is negotiating through Egypt to ease the blockade in exchange for a truce to end recent hostilities.
A member of Palestinian Hamas security forces walks past a Hamas site that was hit in an Israeli airstrike, in Al-Mughraqa on the outskirts of Gaza City
U.S. officials did not give an exact amount of the funds to be cut to the Palestinians. The U.S. nonprofit group, J Street, which advocates for a peaceful end to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, strongly criticized the U.S. decision. The group's Vice President of Government Affairs Dylan Williams called the move a "moral outrage and a major strategic blunder." "These cuts will undermine Israel's security by exacerbating Gaza's humanitarian crisis and further destabilizing the difficult situation in the West Bank — increasing the prospects for violence and unrest," he added.
US Cuts More Than $200 Million in Aid to Palestinians
