Hamas Rejects Israel (Again) and US Efforts to Broker a Peace Deal

What Hamas knows is that President Obama's statements demanding the Palestinians accept a Jewish state of Israel is antithetical to Hamas' very reason for existing - to destroy Israel and to refuse a 2-state solution.

The Islamic terror group that holds control over Gaza and holds sway as part of the Palestinian Authority, saw the speech quite differently than media outlets that saw the President's comments about the border as more important. That, as always, was never an issue.

The border between Israel and her neighbors would be determined through future negotiations as per Oslo, but without a partner in peace that recognizes Israel and a 2-state solution, all talk about borders is asinine and premature to say the least. The Palestinians continue to refuse to accept Israel's right to exist, and Hamas just says it clearer than most.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan said that in light of Obama’s new speech, the PA should reconsider its position toward the peace process and increase efforts to achieve national unity.

“Obama’s speech is a disaster to all those who have been bidding on US policies and positions,” Radwan said. “We reject such statements which prove that the Americans are completely biased in favor of occupation at the expense of Palestinian rights.”

The Hamas spokesman strongly condemned the Obama Administration for “supporting the security of the Zionists and ignoring Palestinian rights.”

Radwan said that it has become obvious now that the Obama Administration is not talking about the 1967 lines or a Palestinian state. “What they are doing now is deception,” he said in reference to Obama’s speech at the AIPAC conference.

Another Hamas spokesman on Sunday also commented on Obama's speech saying it will not force Hamas to recognize Israel.

Obama explicitly referenced the need for Hamas to adhere to the Quartet principles after it recently entered into a Palestinian national unity government, whose formation he called “an enormous obstacle to peace.”

“No country can be expected to negotiate with a terrorist organization sworn to its destruction,” Obama said to cheers from the more than 10,000 AIPAC activists filling the massive convention center hall. “We will continue to demand that Hamas accept the basic responsibilities of peace, including recognizing Israel’s right to exist and rejecting violence and adhering to all existing agreements."

In response, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was quoted as saying by Ma'an that, "The US administration will fail, just as all others have in the past, in forcing Hamas to recognize the occupation," and that Obama's speech showed the US was "not a friend to the people of the region."

The Hamas spokesman added that Obama's continued support of Israel signaled that the US was biased, and would "support the occupation at the expense of the freedom of the Palestinian people," Ma'an quoted him as saying.

Hamas isn't merely talking about the West Bank; it's talking about the very existence of Israel on territory that Hamas believes part of a Palestinian state - all of the former Mandate territory. There is no bargaining here, and any diplomatic efforts to paper over this is doomed to failure.