Palestinians must resist against Israel in WB

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said on Saturday that the Movement faced “huge challenges” in the West Bank because of Abbas forces.

Armed struggle has a powerful appeal among the inhabitants of the occupied territory, where the rival Fatah faction has been extending influence since a civil war with Hamas in 2007, Meshal told a conference in the Syrian capital.

“The resistance is facing huge challenges, especially in the West Bank,” Meshal told a meeting of leading pro-Hamas politicians, writers and thinkers opposed to the U.S.-supervised peace process between the Palestinians and Israel.

“Our inalienable rights are threatened with extinction if the scene in the West Bank does not change by launching the resistance against the Israeli occupation and the settlements,” he added.

The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Fatah, intensified a campaign of arrests against Hamas after Al Qassam members killed four armed settlers in the West Bank on Aug. 31.

Dayton’s Forces

Meshal, who lives in exile in Syria, said only armed resistance would keep the Palestinian cause alive, despite Western aid to Abbas and his forces.

“The Palestinian people will not be bribed. They will not be cowed by Dayton’s forces,” he said, referring to Lieutenant General Keith Dayton, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian territories, who heads training of 8,000 members at the core of the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus.

“We are not talking about a business deal or making a profit. Our only capital is the land, identity and dignity,” Meshal said.

“When there is such an imbalance of power (between Israel and the Palestinians) negotiations become a process of daily humiliation,” he added.