Hamas looks forward to "the great massacre" of Jews

From The Wire, Thurs. 30 Jun. 2011:

Hamas foreign minister: as a ‘matter of principle’ Hamas will never relinquish ‘a single inch of the Palestinian land’.

‘In just a few years, all the Zionists and the settlers will realize that their arrival in Palestine was for the purpose of the great massacre, by means of which Allah wants to relieve humanity of their evil.’

Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas’ foreign minister, has used a recent interview to clarify the ideological difference between the Gaza-based Islamist party, and Fatah. According to the translation from Memri, Zahar stated during his 23 June appearance on the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV that:

‘The difference between [Hamas and Fatah] is that we will not give up a single inch. We say that we should establish a state on any piece of the land, but without relinquishing a single inch. That’s it, in a nutshell. That’s the difference between us and them. They want to establish a state within the 1967 borders, with certain land swaps, and to forget about 78% of the Palestinian land of the past. We say that we should establish a state on any piece of the land – not necessarily [the entire] 1967 territories, but any inch of land – but without giving up a single inch of the land.’

The clear message is that, while Fatah might be willing to accept two states as a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hamas would only ever view the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as an interim solution – the claim to the whole of Israel would continue.
Zahar further clarifies that this is a ‘matter of principle’ which ‘pertains to our strategy for the future’:

‘That is the different between us and them, and it is a matter of principle – a historical, ideological, and political dispute, which pertains to our strategy for the future. The difference is clear… We say that we accept the 1967 borders, but without recognizing Israel, and without giving up our right to the rest of Palestine.’

He concludes by arguing that if it weren’t for this ‘matter of principle’, Hamas would simply be a ‘carbon copy’ of Fatah:

‘I think it is wise to stress this issue, because it is misunderstood. We say that we will establish a state on any inch of land that is liberated, but without relinquishing a single inch of Palestine. This is how we should put it. But when we start talking about readiness to accept 1967 or 1948… This makes you seem like a carbon copy of Fatah. We are not a carbon copy of Fatah. I take full responsibility for saying this. We will never relinquish a single inch of the Palestinian land, which has been and remains Palestinian – the 1948 [borders].’

Zahar’s clarification of Hamas’ position in relation to Israel is in line with an interview he gave in May 2011, when he told the Palestinian news outlet Ma’an that Hamas would never recognise Israel since this would ‘preclude the right of the next generations to liberate the lands.’
The explicit claim by Hamas’ foreign minister that he regards all of Israel as Palestinian land is only the latest in a series of rejectionist statements from the Islamist group. In May, Osama Hamdan, head of Hamas’ international relations department, stated that ‘armed confrontation’ would remain ‘the backbone of the resistance’. Earlier that month, Ismail Haniyeh, de-facto prime minister of Gaza, argued that ‘the Zionist project in Palestine must end’, while a Hamas cleric claimed that:

‘In just a few years, all the Zionists and the settlers will realize that their arrival in Palestine was for the purpose of the great massacre, by means of which Allah wants to relieve humanity of their evil.’