Hezbollah on Tuesday appeared to criticize Hamas for its new policy document which accepts the idea of a Palestinian state in territories liberated by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967.
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem did not specifically refer to Hamas or to the document, but did say that Hezbollah “stands by the resistance that sticks to the goal of liberating the entire Palestine unconditionally.”
“We dissociate from the resistance (groups) that divide Palestine into two states. We dissociate from the resistance that sells the blood (of martyrs in exchange) for land,” said Qassem, according to the Iranian Tasnim news agency.
Qassem also made clear that Hezbollah only supports anti-Israeli groups that would insist on “the full liberation of the Palestinian territories without any preconditions.”
The new Hamas document, unveiled Monday by the group’s leader Khaled Mashaal, maintains Hamas's longstanding refusal to recognize the State of Israel.
The document also states that Hamas's struggle is not against Jews but rather against the “occupier”, meaning Israel.
Mashaal insisted on Monday that the new document reflects the consensus among the members of the group, and also stressed that Hamas is still against “negotiations with the occupation”.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded with skepticism to Hamas's new policy, noting, "We see that Hamas continues to invest all its resources not only in preparations for war against Israel, but also in educating the children of Gaza to annihilate Israel.”