"Envoy: Hamas Will Never Recognize Israel" (Fars News-Iran)

Just in case you were wondering:

The Islamic Resistance Movement considers recognition of the Zionist regime of Israel as its strategic red line, a senior Hamas diplomat said on Wednesday.

"Hamas considers non-recognition of the Zionist regime as its strategic red line," the representative of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Tehran, Khaled al-Qoddoumi, said.

"Therefore no one has the right to review this issue. This cannot be put into debate and is among the firm principles of the Palestinian Islamic resistance," Qoddoumi underscored, addressing a conference on Islamic Awakening here in Tehran.

The Palestinian figure further underscored that resistance against Israel is a much more popular option than useless negotiations.

Earlier this month, a Hamas official said that the movement would never give up armed resistance against the Zionist regime of Israel, rejecting reports that the group has accepted to end its armed struggle against the Israeli regime.

"Hamas has not abandoned any method of resistance since the very first day of its establishment 24 years ago and it will continue the same path in future," Ismaeil al-Ashqar, who also represents Hamas in Palestine's parliament, told FNA at the time.

He made the remarks in response to the claims made by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani that Hamas has ended armed resistance.

"Hamas will never give up armed resistance," al-Ashqar underlined.