Ghazi Hamad

Ghazi Hamad (غازي حمد) is a 25 year member of Hamas and the former editor-in-chief of the Hamas weekly Ar-Risala. [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june06/palestine_1-24.html pbs.org] ] [http://www.meforum.org/article/481 meforum.org] ] As of October 2004, Mr. Hamad was also the head of the Islamic Salvation Party. [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/48BF1C1C-0300-49E9-A7FC-2FC72D02204B.htm aljazeera.net] ] More recently he has assumed the role of a spokesman for Hamas, having gained considerable credibility through the popularity of his newspaper, his imprisonment by the PA under the Fatah administration as well as his five year detention by the Israeli's for activities related to Hamas. Mr.Hamad was editor at the time Al-Risala was shut down and he himself was imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority for publishing articles detrimental to the reputation of the PA, particularly it's prison system. In August 2006 he wrote an article for Al Ayyam, a Palestinian daily newspaper, stating that "Gaza is suffering under the yoke of anarchy and the swords of thugs," and "It is strange that, when a big effort is taken to reopen Rafah crossing to ease the suffering of the people, you see others who go to shell rockets towards the crossing. Or when someone talks about cease-fire and its importance, you find those who go and shell more rockets. Of course, I do not deny that the occupation committed massacres that cannot be justified. But I support negotiations over what can be fixed." [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/middleeast/29mideastcnd.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=6a9276fccdc690d9&hp&ex=1156824000&partner=homepage nytimes.com] ]

More recently Hamad, serving as a spokesman for Hamas, has said of Israel (in response to the Beit Hanoun November 2006 incident), "Israel should be wiped from the face of the Earth. It is an animal state that recognises no human worth. It is a cancer that should be eradicated." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6127250.stm bbc.co.uk] ]

On May 31st, 2007, Mr. Hamad stated that he is willing to accept a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders in an interview with Steven Sackur of the BBC news program "Hardtalk". He did not concede the right of Israel to exist, indicating that position was based on the lack of tangible results to date. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6708999.stm BBC NEWS | Programmes | Hardtalk | Ghazi Hamad ] ]

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