What Hamas and the Palestinian people are doing is legitimate resistance against the Israeli occupation. Our resistance is confined to the territories inside Palestine and only targets the Israeli occupation. We are not blood-mongering killers who kill innocent people around the world.
Khaled MashalWe target the Israeli occupation, not civilians. We are defending ourselves with the simple military means that we have at our disposal. We are keen to develop and to get accurate, sophisticated weaponry in order to precisely target Israeli military installations.
Khaled MashalI like to use my own language. Political movements are like living creatures - they develop. Each document expresses the times, the different stages and is part of the natural development.
Khaled MashalOur political document shows that we are prepared in the context of a national consensus to accept a state on the lines of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital and fulfilling the right of return for refugees. That does not mean that this document recognizes the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation. Nor does it mean that we will cede any part of the Palestinian territories.
Khaled MashalYasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas have recognized Israel's right to exist. The Israeli government has never recognized our right to a sovereign state and self-determination.
Khaled MashalIn principle, Hamas is not keen to be part of an unjust negotiation process in which the only things that comes out of it are new concessions for our people. Why should we negotiate? Unfortunately, even with the Donald Trump administration, I don't see any real vision toward achieving just peace.
Khaled Mashal