This photo has been making the rounds the last few days, but I haven't seen much reference to the more ominous text that accompanies it.
Beirut, Lebanon, Apr. 1 (UPI) -- The leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups met Friday in Beirut and signed a statement declaring their armed resistance against Israel legitimate.
Following a meeting with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal said his group would not disarm.
The joint Hamas-Hezbollah statement said both sides underlined the legitimacy of their resistance activities against Israel. Hamas stressed that the continuation of the current cease-fire in the Palestinian territories depended on an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the release of all prisoners.
The statement said, "Hamas will not be committed to remain calm if Israel fails to meet its demands."
Just to be clear, "the current cease-fire," while touted as a concession to the "peace process," is nothing more than a temporary expedient that neither Hamas nor Hezbollah nor Abu Mazen is pretending will last, regardless of what Israel does. Hamas is "committed to remain calm" for only so long as it requires to regroup and rearm.
The only real demand that Hamas has ever required Israel to meet is to cease to exist.
So since Hamas is winning overwhelming popular support in the new "democratic" palestinian elections, it's time to ask the question once again.
Is it peace yet?
