Media Goes Kumbaya For Hamas

At a news conference held in Qatar, Hamas presented its new manifesto in a clear attempt to make itself more palatable to a Western audience as well as so-called moderate Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Writing for CNN, Jonathan Cristol says:

The new document may seem more moderate, but in reality nothing has changed. While the document accepts the 1967 borders as a “national consensus formula,” and you are sure to see breathless praise for this “change,” Hamas still calls for the “full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” which is poetic code for “the destruction of Israel.”

 

On Jerusalem it says, “Not one stone of Jerusalem can be surrendered or relinquished.” Hamas still rejects not only the admittedly failed Oslo Accords, but also the recognition of Israel and the renunciation of violence. Indeed it calls “armed resistance” the “strategic choice for protecting the principles and the rights of the Palestinian people.”

 

The new document allows Hamas to claim moderation and to seek out new allies alienated by the religious struggle depicted in its original charter. But make no mistake: The new charter does not mean that Hamas will make any change in either its strategy, tactics, or its demands.

 

It has “moderated” its position, but it is not moderate. It must continue to be fought against and to be rejected, just as it rejects the right of Israel to live in peace and security.

You can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.

Hamas is still a terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction through the use of violence and terror.