Khamenei urges Hamas not to give up fighting Israel

Gaza PM Ismail Haniyeh says rejecting peace talks and liberating all of Palestine are key strategies

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh delivers a speech at a rally in Tehran in February. (photo credit: AP/Vahid Salemi)
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh delivers a speech at a rally in Tehran in February. (photo credit: AP/Vahid Salemi)

TEHRAN (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader has urged the Hamas prime minister of Gaza to continue the Islamist militant group’s resistance against Israel.

Iranian state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as telling Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday that people expect Hamas to continue its fight against Israel.

Khamenei said that late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat lost his popularity because he distanced himself from resistance.

Haniyeh said that liberating all of Palestine, rejecting peace talks, and considering the Palestinian issue an Islamic one are his main strategies.

However, Hamas’ top leader, Khaled Mashaal, has been leading a shift, seeking reconciliation with Palestinian rival Mahmoud Abbas, a proponent of negotiations, and endorsing nonviolence as an important tool.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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