Hamas Calls Shoah an Exaggeration

Hamas believes the Holocaust was "exaggerated," its supreme leader said.

Khaled Meshaal Hamas Chief said in a TV interview Monday that the numbers were exaggerated to justify the existence and actions of Israel.

"We don't deny the Holocaust, but we believe the Holocaust was exaggerated by the Zionist movement to use as a whip," the Palestinian gangster was quatoed as saying.

"We don't deny the fact but we don't accept two issues. We don't accept the exaggeration of numbers and we don't accept that Israel uses this to do what it wants."

Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, by any means, including the murder of unarmed civilians.


Asked about Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted to Gaza by Hamas in June 2006, Meshaal said he is alive and well and that negotiations on his return are "being held up by Israel."

The Israeli government has balked at Hamas' demand for the release of hundreds of jailed Palestinians, including hard-core killers, in exchange for Shalit.