Islamist terrorist group Hamas and PLO leader Yasser Arafat "are partners in blood and decisions." So stated senior Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al in a revealing interview with the London-based Saudi Arabian-backed newspaper Al-Hayat.
The interview, published July 29, places the Hamas in the position of defender of Arafat as Mash'al said that the reformist agenda is "conforming to the American and Israeli demands." In particular, he warned that a campaign against Arafat is likely to coincide with "external campaigns to get rid of him."
In any such campaign against the PLO leader, Mash'al declared, "We are partners in blood and decisions, and [Hamas] will not take the position of being a mere observer."
The "ultimate corruption", the Hamas leader explained, was when "security coordination with the enemy in the mid-1990s reached the point of widespread arrests in favor of Israeli interests, handing over cells and killing leaders and members of the resistance.... Why isn't there an uprising against that?"
The Hamas leader further accused certain unnamed PA officials of "raising the slogan of fighting corruption for personal interests." The Al-Hayat reporter wrote that Mash'al implied that former Gaza security chief Muhammad Dahlan was among the corrupt officials using the "banner of reform" for their own ends.
The interview, published July 29, places the Hamas in the position of defender of Arafat as Mash'al said that the reformist agenda is "conforming to the American and Israeli demands." In particular, he warned that a campaign against Arafat is likely to coincide with "external campaigns to get rid of him."
In any such campaign against the PLO leader, Mash'al declared, "We are partners in blood and decisions, and [Hamas] will not take the position of being a mere observer."
The "ultimate corruption", the Hamas leader explained, was when "security coordination with the enemy in the mid-1990s reached the point of widespread arrests in favor of Israeli interests, handing over cells and killing leaders and members of the resistance.... Why isn't there an uprising against that?"
The Hamas leader further accused certain unnamed PA officials of "raising the slogan of fighting corruption for personal interests." The Al-Hayat reporter wrote that Mash'al implied that former Gaza security chief Muhammad Dahlan was among the corrupt officials using the "banner of reform" for their own ends.