GAZA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- As the countdown has started for submitting a request to the United Nations to demand full membership for the state of Palestine later this month, leaders of the Islamic Hamas movement said they are against the bid, but the movement's official position is still undecided.
In a previous interview with Xinhua on Wednesday, Yousef Rezqah, an aide to the deposed premier of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip said his movement opposes the attitude to approach the UN for recognition, "because Hamas believes that rights are grabbed and not begged."
But still grabbing rights instead of begging it might be Rezqah 's personal opinion, as the Islamic movement is still keeping silent and has not yet issued any official comment to say whether it is against or in favor of the Palestinian bid, although it said that the issue was not coordinated with it.
As the Hamas movement opposes any peace talks with Israel, the Palestinians decided to approach the UN after the direct peace talks with Israel remained stalled after almost a year due to Israel's refusal to halt settlement building in the Palestinian territories, while Hamas did nothing to stop settlement activities.
Musatafa al-Sawaf, a pro-Hamas Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua that approaching the UN for recognition "expresses a Palestinian political bankruptcy after they had lost all other opportunities and options," adding that "approaching the UN won't be so beneficial and fruitful."
RESISTANCE IS BENEFICIAL
"Applying to the UN won't be so fruitful because states aren't established through the Security Council, the General Assembly or the negotiation tables, we have an occupation and the natural law of the occupation is resistance and establishing states only goes through resistance," said al-Sawaf.
However, the question is if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas succeeds in grabbing an international recognition of an independent Palestinian state, or even gaining the position of an observer state, would Hamas movement support it or keep complaining and opposing the Palestinian leadership strategy and policy.
"Hamas has a full study of all the aspects of the whole issue, but I don't know, may be within the upcoming hours or days, Hamas will announce an official position concerning the UN bid. Hamas is not against the establishment of a state, it's against the high prices that our people will pay," said al-Sawaf.
Hamas claims that any future UN resolution will not be useful because there had been resolutions, remained unimplemented, and called for giving the Palestinians their rights, mainly ending the Israeli military occupation of their lands, establishing their independent state and giving the refugees their rights.
HAMAS CONTRADICTS ITSELF
Not showing a clear position on the Palestinian bid to the UN for independence, the current Hamas stances are clearly contradicted. As its leaders had clearly said they oppose the bid, in the meanwhile, they slammed President Abbas for not coordinating the move with the other factions.
Some Palestinians slammed Hamas, because on one hand it prevents militants from launching rockets from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel to keep its presence and power in the enclave it seized by force in 2007, while on the other, it called on Abbas to give a free hand of attacks against Israel in the West Bank.
"Hamas has become more pragmatic, but it always acts to serve and keep its strategic interests. In the past, it strongly and violently opposed the transitional peace accords signed with Israel, but this time it softened its opposition and won't violently oppose it," said Talal Oukal, a Gaza-based political analyst.
He added that Hamas will not carry out any action to abortion the Palestinian attitude to approach the UN, "and doesn't strongly oppose it at the same time. Hamas wants to keep the Palestinian ( National) Authority to go alone to the UN and then see what will be the negative or positive consequences."
WAIT FOR RESULT
Palestinian observers argued over, if Hamas does not clearly say its position now, what will it say after bid is made, regardless if it produces negative or positive consequences. Some say that it would join the train if the results are positive, and others say it would oppose it if the results are negative.
"The issue has no relation to what will happen after September 20 (The date for the UN bid) as long as there is a big challenge, where the United States may veto the bid and may impose sanctions on the Palestinians, while Israel prepares itself for confronting the consequences of the bid," said Oukal.
Meanwhile, Hamas tries to show that the implementation of the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation pact signed in Cairo in May 4 with President Abbas Fatah party is more important than wasting the Palestinian time by carrying out a step that mightn't be fruitful and beneficial.
"But in case the world recognizes an independent Palestinian state established on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, Hamas would certainly welcome this. It doesn't mean that if Hamas opposes the bid, it wants Israel to reoccupy the West Bank and see the Palestinian Authority collapsed," said Oukal.
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