PIJ, Hamas call on PLO to ‘withdraw recognition’ of Israel
The Cradle, July 19, 2024 —
The joint statement was a response to an Israeli Knesset vote rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement called in a joint statement on 19 July for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to drop its recognition of Israel.
The statement called on the PLO and its affiliated legislative body, the Palestinian Authority (PA), to “withdraw its recognition of the Zionist entity, in response to the Knesset’s decision not to recognize a Palestinian state.”
It was drafted on Thursday evening in the Qatari capital of Doha following a meeting between Hamas and the PIJ representatives.
“The leadership [of the two factions] believed that, in light of the Knesset’s stated position of rejecting the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state; Today, the national group is required to take a unified stance to confront these attempts to erase the Palestinian issue and build on what the battle [of Al-Aqsa Flood] accomplished,” it said.
“They called on the leadership of the PLO to withdraw recognition of the Zionist entity, stressing at the same time the right of our people to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return for refugees.”
The Israeli Knesset passed a vote early on 18 July, rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The resolution was supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition and several opposition parties, including Benny Gantz’s National Unity party.
“The Knesset of Israel firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan. The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel will pose an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region,” the resolution stated.
“It will only be a matter of a short time until Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terror base, working in coordination with the Iranian-led axis to eliminate the State of Israel,” it added.
A resolution backed by Netanyahu was passed in February, rejecting the unilateral establishment of a Palestinian state without a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. However, the resolution passed on Thursday completely rejects Palestinian statehood even as part of any future peace agreement.
Washington’s line has, for years, been that Palestinian statehood must be achieved through a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The PA was formed in the aftermath of the US-sponsored 1993 Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel. While the agreement was meant to set a pathway for eventual Palestinian statehood in exchange for the PLO’s renunciation of armed resistance, it ended up solidifying Israeli occupation and accelerating the establishment of illegal settlements.
The joint Hamas-PIJ statement came on the 287th day of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Efforts to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement remain stalled over Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel be allowed to resume fighting and achieve its goal of destroying Hamas once the captives are swapped.
Meanwhile, Hamas holds fast to its terms – a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.