Preamble
Palestine is the land of the Arab Palestinian people, from it they originate, to it they adhere and belong, and about it they reach out and communicate.
Palestine is a land whose status has been elevated by Islam, a faith that holds it in high esteem, that breathes through it its spirit and just values and that lays the foundation for the doctrine of defending and protecting it.
Palestine is the cause of a people who have been let down by a world that fails to secure their rights and restore to them what has been usurped from them, a people whose land continues to suffer one of the worst types of occupation in this world.
Palestine is a land that was seized by a racist, anti-human and colonial Zionist project that was founded on a false promise (the Balfour Declaration), on recognition of a usurping entity and on imposing a fait accompli by force.
Palestine symbolises the resistance that shall continue until liberation is accomplished, until the return is fulfilled and until a fully sovereign state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.
Palestine is the true partnership among Palestinians of all affiliations for the sublime objective of liberation.
Palestine is the spirit of the Ummah [Ed. ‘Ummah’ is commonly used to mean the collective nation of Islamic people] and its central cause; it is the soul of humanity and its living conscience.
This document is the product of deep deliberations that led us to a strong consensus. As a movement, we agree about both the theory and the practice of the vision that is outlined in the pages that follow. It is a vision that stands on solid grounds and on well-established principles. This document unveils the goals, the milestones and the way in which national unity can be enforced. It also establishes our common understanding of the Palestinian cause, the working principles which we use to further it, and the limits of flexibility used to interpret it.
The movement
1. The Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” is a Palestinian Islamic national liberation and resistance movement. Its goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project. Its frame of reference is Islam, which determines its principles, objectives and means.
The Land of Palestine
2. Palestine, which extends from the River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean in the west and from Ras al-Naqurah in the north to Umm al-Rashrash in the south, is an integral territorial unit. It is the land and the home of the Palestinian people. The expulsion and banishment of the Palestinian people from their land and the establishment of the Zionist entity therein do not annul the right of the Palestinian people to their entire land and do not entrench any rights therein for the usurping Zionist entity.
3. Palestine is an Arab Islamic land. It is a blessed sacred land that has a special place in the heart of every Arab and every Muslim.
The Palestinian people
4. The Palestinians are the Arabs who lived in Palestine until 1947, irrespective of whether they were expelled from it, or stayed in it; and every person that was born to an Arab Palestinian father after that date, whether inside or outside Palestine, is a Palestinian.
5. The Palestinian identity is authentic and timeless; it is passed from generation to generation. The catastrophes that have befallen the Palestinian people, as a consequence of the Zionist occupation and its policy of displacement, cannot erase the identity of the Palestinian people nor can they negate it. A Palestinian shall not lose his or her national identity or rights by acquiring a second nationality.
6. The Palestinian people are one people, made up of all Palestinians, inside and outside of Palestine, irrespective of their religion, culture or political affiliation.
Islam and Palestine
7. Palestine is at the heart of the Arab and Islamic Ummah and enjoys a special status. Within Palestine there exists Jerusalem, whose precincts are blessed by Allah. Palestine is the Holy Land, which Allah has blessed for humanity. It is the Muslims’ first Qiblah and the destination of the journey performed at night by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It is the location from where he ascended to the upper heavens. It is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. Its soil contains the remains of thousands of prophets, companions and mujahidin. It is the land of people who are determined to defend the truth – within Jerusalem and its surroundings – who are not deterred or intimidated by those who oppose them and by those who betray them, and they will continue their mission until the Promise of Allah is fulfilled.
8. By virtue of its justly balanced middle way and moderate spirit, Islam – for Hamas - provides a comprehensive way of life and an order that is fit for purpose at all times and in all places. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. It provides an umbrella for the followers of other creeds and religions who can practice their beliefs in security and safety. Hamas also believes that Palestine has always been and will always be a model of coexistence, tolerance and civilizational innovation.
9. Hamas believes that the message of Islam upholds the values of truth, justice, freedom and dignity and prohibits all forms of injustice and incriminates oppressors irrespective of their religion, race, gender or nationality. Islam is against all forms of religious, ethnic or sectarian extremism and bigotry. It is the religion that inculcates in its followers the value of standing up to aggression and of supporting the oppressed; it motivates them to give generously and make sacrifices in defence of their dignity, their land, their peoples and their holy places.
Jerusalem
10. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine. Its religious, historic and civilisational status is fundamental to the Arabs, Muslims and the world at large. Its Islamic and Christian holy places belong exclusively to the Palestinian people and to the Arab and Islamic Ummah. Not one stone of Jerusalem can be surrendered or relinquished. The measures undertaken by the occupiers in Jerusalem, such as Judaisation, settlement building, and establishing facts on the ground are fundamentally null and void.
11. The blessed al-Aqsa Mosque belongs exclusively to our people and our Ummah, and the occupation has no right to it whatsoever. The occupation’s plots, measures and attempts to judaize al-Aqsa and divide it are null, void and illegitimate.
Refugees and right of return
12. The Palestinian cause in its essence is a cause of an occupied land and a displaced people. The right of the Palestinian refugees and the displaced to return to their homes from which they were banished or were banned from returning to – whether in the lands occupied in 1948 or in 1967 (that is the whole of Palestine), is a natural right, both individual and collective. This right is confirmed by all divine laws as well as by the basic principles of human rights and international law. It is an inalienable right and cannot be dispensed with by any party, whether Palestinian, Arab or international.
13. Hamas rejects all attempts to erase the rights of the refugees, including the attempts to settle them outside Palestine and through the projects of the alternative homeland. Compensation to the Palestinian refugees for the harm they have suffered as a consequence of banishing them and occupying their land is an absolute right that goes hand in hand with their right to return. They are to receive compensation upon their return and this does not negate or diminish their right to return.
The Zionist project
14. The Zionist project is a racist, aggressive, colonial and expansionist project based on seizing the properties of others; it is hostile to the Palestinian people and to their aspiration for freedom, liberation, return and self-determination. The Israeli entity is the plaything of the Zionist project and its base of aggression.
15. The Zionist project does not target the Palestinian people alone; it is the enemy of the Arab and Islamic Ummah posing a grave threat to its security and interests. It is also hostile to the Ummah’s aspirations for unity, renaissance and liberation and has been the major source of its troubles. The Zionist project also poses a danger to international security and peace and to mankind and its interests and stability.
16. Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.
17. Hamas rejects the persecution of any human being or the undermining of his or her rights on nationalist, religious or sectarian grounds. Hamas is of the view that the Jewish problem, anti-Semitism and the persecution of the Jews are phenomena fundamentally linked to European history and not to the history of the Arabs and the Muslims or to their heritage. The Zionist movement, which was able with the help of Western powers to occupy Palestine, is the most dangerous form of settlement occupation which has already disappeared from much of the world and must disappear from Palestine.
The position toward Occupation and political solutions
18. The following are considered null and void: the Balfour Declaration, the British Mandate Document, the UN Palestine Partition Resolution, and whatever resolutions and measures that derive from them or are similar to them. The establishment of “Israel” is entirely illegal and contravenes the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and goes against their will and the will of the Ummah; it is also in violation of human rights that are guaranteed by international conventions, foremost among them is the right to self-determination.
19. There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity. Whatever has befallen the land of Palestine in terms of occupation, settlement building, judaisation or changes to its features or falsification of facts is illegitimate. Rights never lapse.
20. Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. However, without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus.
21. Hamas affirms that the Oslo Accords and their addenda contravene the governing rules of international law in that they generate commitments that violate the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Therefore, the Movement rejects these agreements and all that flows from them, such as the obligations that are detrimental to the interests of our people, especially security coordination (collaboration).
22. Hamas rejects all the agreements, initiatives and settlement projects that are aimed at undermining the Palestinian cause and the rights of our Palestinian people. In this regard, any stance, initiative or political programme must not in any way violate these rights and should not contravene them or contradict them.
23. Hamas stresses that transgression against the Palestinian people, usurping their land and banishing them from their homeland cannot be called peace. Any settlements reached on this basis will not lead to peace. Resistance and jihad for the liberation of Palestine will remain a legitimate right, a duty and an honour for all the sons and daughters of our people and our Ummah.
Resistance and Liberation
24. The liberation of Palestine is the duty of the Palestinian people in particular and the duty of the Arab and Islamic Ummah in general. It is also a humanitarian obligation as necessitated by the dictates of truth and justice. The agencies working for Palestine, whether national, Arab, Islamic or humanitarian, complement each other and are harmonious and not in conflict with each other.
25. Resisting the occupation with all means and methods is a legitimate right guaranteed by divine laws and by international norms and laws. At the heart of these lies armed resistance, which is regarded as the strategic choice for protecting the principles and the rights of the Palestinian people.
26. Hamas rejects any attempt to undermine the resistance and its arms. It also affirms the right of our people to develop the means and mechanisms of resistance. Managing resistance, in terms of escalation or de-escalation, or in terms of diversifying the means and methods, is an integral part of the process of managing the conflict and should not be at the expense of the principle of resistance.
The Palestinian political system
27. A real state of Palestine is a state that has been liberated. There is no alternative to a fully sovereign Palestinian State on the entire national Palestinian soil, with Jerusalem as its capital.
28. Hamas believes in, and adheres to, managing its Palestinian relations on the basis of pluralism, democracy, national partnership, acceptance of the other and the adoption of dialogue. The aim is to bolster the unity of ranks and joint action for the purpose of accomplishing national goals and fulfilling the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
29. The PLO is a national framework for the Palestinian people inside and outside of Palestine. It should therefore be preserved, developed and rebuilt on democratic foundations so as to secure the participation of all the constituents and forces of the Palestinian people, in a manner that safeguards Palestinian rights.
30. Hamas stresses the necessity of building Palestinian national institutions on sound democratic principles, foremost among them are free and fair elections. Such process should be on the basis of national partnership and in accordance with a clear programme and a clear strategy that adhere to the rights, including the right of resistance, and which fulfil the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
31. Hamas affirms that the role of the Palestinian Authority should be to serve the Palestinian people and safeguard their security, their rights and their national project.
32. Hamas stresses the necessity of maintaining the independence of Palestinian national decision-making. Outside forces should not be allowed to intervene. At the same time, Hamas affirms the responsibility of the Arabs and the Muslims and their duty and role in the liberation of Palestine from Zionist occupation.
33. Palestinian society is enriched by its prominent personalities, figures, dignitaries, civil society institutions, and youth, students, trade unionist and women’s groups who together work for the achievement of national goals and societal building, pursue resistance, and achieve liberation.
34. The role of Palestinian women is fundamental in the process of building the present and the future, just as it has always been in the process of making Palestinian history. It is a pivotal role in the project of resistance, liberation and building the political system.
The Arab and Islamic Ummah
35. Hamas believes that the Palestinian issue is the central cause for the Arab and Islamic Ummah.
36. Hamas believes in the unity of the Ummah with all its diverse constituents and is aware of the need to avoid anything that could fragment the Ummah and undermine its unity.
37. Hamas believes in cooperating with all states that support the rights of the Palestinian people. It opposes intervention in the internal affairs of any country. It also refuses to be drawn into disputes and conflicts that take place among different countries. Hamas adopts the policy of opening up to different states in the world, especially the Arab and Islamic states. It endeavours to establish balanced relations on the basis of combining the requirements of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s interests on the one hand with the interests of the Ummah, its renaissance and its security on the other.
The Humanitarian and international aspect
38. The Palestinian issue is one that has major humanitarian and international dimensions. Supporting and backing this cause is a humanitarian and civilisational task that is required by the prerequisites of truth, justice and common humanitarian values.
39. From a legal and humanitarian perspective, the liberation of Palestine is a legitimate activity, it is an act of self-defence, and it is the expression of the natural right of all peoples to self-determination.
40. In its relations with world nations and peoples, Hamas believes in the values of cooperation, justice, freedom and respect of the will of the people.
41. Hamas welcomes the stances of states, organisations and institutions that support the rights of the Palestinian people. It salutes the free peoples of the world who support the Palestinian cause. At the same time, it denounces the support granted by any party to the Zionist entity or the attempts to cover up its crimes and aggression against the Palestinians and calls for the prosecution of Zionist war criminals.
42. Hamas rejects the attempts to impose hegemony on the Arab and Islamic Ummah just as it rejects the attempts to impose hegemony on the rest of the world’s nations and peoples. Hamas also condemns all forms of colonialism, occupation, discrimination, oppression and aggression in the world.
So, a couple points:
1) This document represents the plank of a political party. As such, it has no political weight because it has never been voted on and passed in any sort of referendum.
2) Hamas states at several points they have no interesting in killing or otherwise discriminating against Jews. You can believe it or not, but this is what they say, publicly and in writing. They DO believe in armed resistance, though, to achieve justice. That's not unusual - most people around the world believe in that.
3) Hamas plainly believes that the whole 'Israel' project was wrong-headed from the beginning. They want to see it dismantled and replaced with a multi-ethnic democracy "from the river to the sea." Such a "one-state" solution would, probably, have a demographic Arab majority. There is no indication of 'driving anyone into the sea' or any such rhetoric.
4) However, Hamas also bows to realism, indicating that a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders might be what happens. What would they do after that, they don't lay out. Presumably some sort of hudna or long-term truce, similar to the one Hamas offered in 2008.
@spruce112358 saidNobody cares what Hamas says. Neither of the Hamas Charters, 1988 or 2017 is of any significance. So why you posted all that crap is weird. Nobody reads that. Certainly the Jews, dont care.
So, a couple points:
1) This document represents the plank of a political party. As such, it has no political weight because it has never been voted on and passed in any sort of referendum.
2) Hamas states at several points they have no interesting in killing or otherwise discriminating against Jews. You can believe it or not, but this is what they say, publicly an ...[text shortened]... lay out. Presumably some sort of hudna or long-term truce, similar to the one Hamas offered in 2008.
The wise man looks at the action of Hamas, and what the people of Gaza want and support. They have made their position abundantly clear.
@rajk999 saidRajk999: "Read the Hamas Charter! They want to Kill the Jews!"
Nobody cares what Hamas says. Neither of the Hamas Charters, 1988 or 2017 is of any significance. So why you posted all that crap is weird. Nobody reads that. Certainly the Jews, dont care.
The wise man looks at the action of Hamas, and what the people of Gaza want and support. They have made their position abundantly clear.
Spruce: "Here is the Hamas Charter. It says they don't want to kill the Jews."
Rajk999: "Nobody reads the Hamas Charter!"
🙂
@spruce112358
Charter all well and good but their actions say different, 1200 dead Jews is not tolerance, it is revenge. And I can see revenge as an issue considering Israelis took lands from the Palestinians by force and built settlements there. If I was Palestinian I would be livid.
@spruce112358 saidWe read it because we have an interest in current affairs in that area. People in general dont read it neither do they care about what Hamas says, only about what Hamas DOES. Hamas said first their aim is to kill Jews. The fact that they change what they said but continue to DO what they want to do ie KILL JEWS, fool only the gullible. I really cannot believe that you are so taken with a stupid Hamas Charter and not once have you condemned the actions of Hamas on Oct 7th.
Rajk999: "Read the Hamas Charter! They want to Kill the Jews!"
Spruce: "Here is the Hamas Charter. It says they don't want to kill the Jews."
Rajk999: "Nobody reads the Hamas Charter!"
🙂
Hamas is probably still firing rockets into Israel
Hamas still has hostages
Hamas has not surrendered.
The war continues.
People are dying.
Hamas is at fault for the deaths in Gaza.
@cliff-mashburn saidCorrect. Also Arab people never had control of the Land of Palestine. It was always part of some Empire. They are a conquered people and they will stay that way.
Jews occupied Palestine since 2000 BC....Muslims came on the scene in 600 AD, and they want to claim they own it?
@sonhouse saidWhich land was taken by force? All land was taken after hostilities and/or some war started by Palestinians. This is a standard practice where land is up for grabs. This is part of the Geneva Convention, that were there are land disputes there is no clear owner and in the event of hostile action by one party, the winner can rightfully annex such land. This is nothing new. The Palestinians routinely attack Israel, war ensues, they lose and the borders are pushed back.
@spruce112358
Charter all well and good but their actions say different, 1200 dead Jews is not tolerance, it is revenge. And I can see revenge as an issue considering Israelis took lands from the Palestinians by force and built settlements there. If I was Palestinian I would be livid.
@spruce112358
Have they renounced the 1988 one?
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp
...
Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious.
...
Moreover, if the links have been distant from each other and if obstacles, placed by those who are the lackeys of Zionism in the way of the fighters obstructed the continuation of the struggle, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
...
We should not forget to remind every Moslem that when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that "Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women."
Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people. "May the cowards never sleep."
..
The Islamic Resistance Movement consider itself to be the spearhead of the circle of struggle with world Zionism and a step on the road. The Movement adds its efforts to the efforts of all those who are active in the Palestinian arena. Arab and Islamic Peoples should augment by further steps on their part; Islamic groupings all over the Arab world should also do the same, since all of these are the best-equipped for the future role in the fight with the warmongering Jews.
@Rajk999
That is one point. Did you live there? Me and my family lived in Jerusalem for years and I saw really stupid shyte the Israeli's pulled, like in the Palestinian village we could see from our flat above the 'Peace" forest, every year some Jewish holiday or other, maybe winning the 67 war, not sure, but they had several bus loads of high school kids go into that village and marching through town boasting how they won and such, I thought it was disgusting, a show of arrogance and how could peace happen with displays like that. Another biggie was the Jordan river water, by the time that water got to Palestinian lands it was a dribble and what there was was so polluted you wouldn't want to wash your feet in it much less grow crops.
At least to that end the US funded a 100 million dollar red sea water desalination plant, I don't know if it is still running though.
That said, we had dear friends on both sides the tweed, I just wrote a tune in honor of one such, Jill Rogoff, a great singer and harpist. I post my stuff on Soundcloud. She and her husband Mike helped us out greatly when we needed it and I never forgot that. We fit right into the folk music community, played gigs up and down the country, several years at the biggest festival, Jacob's ladder.
@rajk999 saidYeah, so have you, you racist kunt.
Nobody cares what Hamas says. Neither of the Hamas Charters, 1988 or 2017 is of any significance. So why you posted all that crap is weird. Nobody reads that. Certainly the Jews, dont care.
The wise man looks at the action of Hamas, and what the people of Gaza want and support. They have made their position abundantly clear.
@shavixmir saidWhen your brain can only think of obscenities, you are a defeated man.
Yeah, so have you, you racist kunt.