13 June 2001

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

Press statement on PA’s acceptance of George Tenet’s proposals

Commenting on the Palestinian Authority’s acceptance of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief George Tenet’s proposals, even with certain reservations, a responsible source in the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, said that the Movement would like to affirm the following stands:

1- Based on the Movement’s previous declaration along with all Palestinian forces and factions on rejecting American and western pressures and initiatives, we reject the PA’s acceptance of the CIA chief’s proposals, which are in fact Israeli proposals in American guise. We affirm that the PA’s approval came in response to feverish American and western pressures over the past few days and not in response to the Palestinian national position that was reflected in the popular and factional unanimity today on continuation of the intifada and resistance. Consequently we ask the PA to rescind its stand towards those proposals and side by our people’s stands, rights.

2- The American and western moves, especially the recent George Tenet’s efforts, were not active over the past eight months to stop Palestinian blood letting including hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded or to halt destruction of houses and agricultural fields in addition other sabotage acts. They only acted when Sharon failed to restore Zionist security and quell our people’s intifada, resistance and heroic operations, which had almost led to real changes in the Zionist entity’s situation. Tenet’s proposals and the western-American proposals were meant to save the Zionist entity from its ordeal in addition to saving mass murderer Sharon from his predicament. They do not care for our people’s rights and sufferings; they even ignore and bypass them.

3- Mitchell’s report, the American proposals and all political initiatives in the region blatantly ignore the core of the conflict and deal with the Palestinian people’s cause and rights in accordance with wrong and oppressive equations, which we denounce. Once they call for reciprocal end of violence as if the clashes were between two neighboring and equal parties rather than an occupation and oppressive aggression against an unarmed people. On another occasion, they call for halting the construction of settlements in return for ending the intifada and resistance, which is the essence of Mitchell’s report, in a way downgrading our people’s demands of expelling occupation into merely ending settlement activity while endorsing occupation and its hegemony.

The American proposals then follow dealing with the issue from security point of view for the interest of the Zionist enemy and its priorities without any considerations to our people’s rights and just demands. They impose on the PA certain security prerequisites that would lead in conclusion, according to the American-Zionist speculation, to Palestinian feudal fighting, halting the intifada and resistance and aborting their accomplishments.

This means that the political moves target more concessions and political retreat, which were originally oppressive and unfair and were rejected on our part and on the part of our people, so how would the situation be with such bias and quickening downfall.

4- We, in the Hamas Movement along with our people’s masses and forces, affirm that the intifada will continue and the resistance will persist. We declare our absolute rejection to the return to security coordination and cooperation with the enemy, the policy of arrests and prosecution of Mujahideen and disarming them. This will entail a most serious impact on our people’s national unity, interests, rights and accomplishments of their intifada and resistance. They do not serve anyone on the Palestinian arena not even in the PA. Our people will not allow the return to such policies and measures and will remain insisting on their right in resisting occupation.

Islamic Resistance Movement 
Hamas – Palestine
13/6/2001