Hamas: There is no contradiction between arms and parliament

Hamas said it plans to retain its weapons and its commitment to the destruction of Israel after Wednesday’s Palestinian Legislative Countil election, in which it slated to win seats for the first time. „The Europeans and the Americans are telling Hamas to choose between arms and parliament. We say we will go for arms and parliament and there is no contradiction between the two of them,” said Ismail Haniyah, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza. After casting his vote in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said the group „will not change a single word in its covenant” calling for the destruction of Israel. He said Hamas would continue its path of „resistance” against Israeli occupation in the West Bank even as it serves in the Palestinian parliament. „Hamas will not turn into a political party. Hamas plays in all fields. It plays in the field of resistance,” he told reporters. Earlier in the week, Zahar said the group was open to indirect negotiations with Israel as a means of ensuring the release of Palestinian prisoners and further Israeli withdrawals from lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Carter: U.S. won’t work with Hamas unless it changes Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who is leading a team of international observers for the Palestinian parliamentary election Wednesday, said Tuesday that if Hamas wants to win international recognition after the elections, it will have to become more moderate. Carter said at the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday that Hamas’ electoral success „may or may not lead to their assuming more moderate and peaceful policies,” but added: „This they must do.” Carter stated that Palestinians must stop terror groups, „even including a direct military confrontation.” He also said Israel should withdraw from more West Bank settlements for the sake of a „Palestinian state living in peace and dignity,” and added that Israel must not adopt unilateral as a fixed policy. „[Violence] is inherently counterproductive for the well-being of the Palestinian people and obviously prevents any further progress in the peace process,” Carter said. „I hope and believe that after this election there will be an extremely strong commitment by Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] and the entire Palestinian Authority… to stamp out the last vestiges of terrorism,” he said. Carter also said that he hopes that if Hamas joins the Palestinian government, it will change its positions and accept the two-state solution, recognize Israel’s right to exist and act to prevent violence against innocent civilians.