For the first time since 2007, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh left the Gaza
Strip Sunday on a tour that will take him to a number of Arab and Islamic
countries.
On the eve of the tour, Hamas
reiterated its opposition to
renouncing violence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist.
RELATED:
'Abbas in a stronger position with Hamas in PLO'
Analysis: Palestinian rivals united by driftHaniyeh’s
tour will take him to Egypt, Sudan, Turkey, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia,
said a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip.
Unconfirmed reports said that
Haniyeh will also visit Benghazi for talks with the new leaders of
Libya.
Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing at
the head of a delegation consisting of ministers and top Hamas
officials.
The London-based
Al- Hayat newspaper said that Sudanese
President Omar Bashir sent a private plane to Cairo to pick up the Hamas prime
minister.
Haniyeh’s talks with the Arab and Muslim leaders will focus on
the situation in the Gaza Strip, the official said.
The Hamas leader will
seek financial aid for rebuilding destroyed houses and solving the severe
problem of unemployment in the Gaza Strip, the official added.
Yusef
Rizka, a political adviser to Haniyeh, said this was an important visit because
of the changes in the Arab world as a result of the “Arab
Spring.”
Meanwhile, Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel reaffirmed his
movement’s refusal to recognize Israel.
He said Hamas remained committed
to the armed resistance option “until the occupiers are expelled from
Palestine.”
“We won’t recognize Israel under any circumstances,”
Bardaweel declared.