Hamas' Zahar VS. Israel's Sharon

Newly-installed Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar on Sunday reiterated Hamas's desire to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamic state. Zahar's remarks, in an interview with the Chinese news agency Xinhua, dispel hopes that Hamas's presence in power would have a moderating effect on its leaders. His statements also stand in sharp contrast with Hamas's attempt to project a conciliatory and pragmatic image following the movement's landslide victory in last January's parliamentary election.

"I dream of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it," Zahar said in the interview. "I hope that our dream to have our independent state on all historic Palestine (will materialize)." This dream, he added, "will become real one day. I'm certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land."

Palestinian Foreign Minister, Mahmoud a-Zahar

Now Compare this to former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon's words at the September 15 2005 U.N. Summit

"the right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel does not mean disregarding the rights of others in the land. The Palestinians will always be our neighbors. We respect them, and have no aspirations to rule over them. They are also entitled to freedom and to a national, sovereign existence in a state of their own."

Also see: Sharon's Words at the U.N.                Palestinian Foreign Minister: I Dream of a Map Without Israel                Hamas Now Represents the Palestinian People                Hamas Says it Wont Arrest Militants Who Attack Israel               The Hamas Charter                Hamas Vows Never to Recognize Israel                Hamas Minister: Is Violence a Palestinian Disease?                Why There is No Palestinian State Today

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