The leader of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, Isma'il Haniyeh, warned the Palestinian people not to believe Thursday's speech by U.S. President George W. Bush in which he called for an "end to the occupation." Haniyeh stated that Bush's visit to the region was harmful to any peace process between Palestine and Israel, and hurt the chances of Palestinians to achieve the right of self-determination.
According to Haniyeh, Bush's promises to the Palestinians were lies. He scolded the Palestinian people for buying into Bush's promises, and warned them that going this route will surely lead to their demise.
Haniyeh stated: "Bush gave Israel all the required pledges to solidify its occupation and to wipe out basic Palestinian rights and sacred issues, while he gave the Palestinians more illusions and slogans, and loose words that only express the deception which has characterized this visit."
