GAZA CITY — Hamas chief-in-exile Khaled Mishaal, on the third day of a trip to Gaza, told students that different situations called for different measures — from rockets to a truce. Speaking at the Islamic University in Gaza City, Mishaal appeared to back the continuation of a truce agreed between Israel and the Hamas movement last month, which ended an eight-day conflict in and around Gaza. “Resistance is the basis, but sometimes we agree to a truce, sometimes we escalate in various manners, sometimes we fire rockets, sometimes we don't,” he said in a speech. He praised the efforts of Gaza militant groups, saying they had surprised Israel's leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. “Oh, young men and young women, we surprised the enemy, neither Netanyahu, nor Lieberman, nor Barak believed that the population of Gaza, this small but wonderful piece of land, would dare to bomb Tel Aviv,” Mishaal said. He reiterated a call for Palestinian unity he made at a Saturday rally celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip. “We want national unity in the armed resistance and popular resistance. I urge you towards reconciliation and national unity of the Palestinian ranks,” he said. “Palestine is too big for a single movement,” he added. “Palestine is for all of us, we are partners in this nation. Hamas cannot do without Fatah or Fatah without Hamas, or any movement.” In Ramallah, the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Mishaal comments on the need for renewed efforts for reconciliation. Azzam Al-Ahmed, head of Fatah's central committee and its pointman for reconciliation talks, said the party “strongly welcomes Mishaal's speech, which was very positive on the issue of the Palestinian division.” “The speech was positive on the issues of one president for the Palestinian people, and one authority and one law, and we do not disagree with him at all on these issues, which are the focus of the reconciliation agreement that was signed by Fatah and Hamas and the other factions to end the division,” he said. Mishaal, chief-in-exile of Hamas's politburo, arrived in Gaza on his first-ever visit on Friday, and on Saturday addressed enormous crowds celebrating the Islamist movement's 25th anniversary. His speech, which warned that Palestinians would never “cede an inch or any part” of historic Palestine, also called for Palestinian unity. President Abbas Sunday told Arab League diplomats in Doha that the two groups wanted to overcome their differences. “The reconciliation is dear to us and to the unity of our people, especially in the present time, when we are talking about a Palestinian state and about getting something new,” he said, but stressed talks with Israel. “If we put aside the negotiating table, the alternative would be war,” Abbas told envoys at a meeting in Doha. “Are we ready for war? I say no.”— Agencies
