DOHA – Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organisation Hamas has presented a new political document on Monday that accepts the formation of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
The surprising move was announced by Khaled Meshaal in Doha, the leader-in-exile of the Hamas without recognising the statehood of Israel.
Meshaal noted that the conflict in Palestine was not of a religious nature and Hamas would not waive an inch of Palestinian soil.
“We shall not waive an inch of the Palestinian home soil, no matter what the recent pressures are and no matter how long the occupation,” he said.
The 1967 borders, accepted by Hamas refer to those that existed before the war in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The development apparently seems as a gesture of reconciliation from the group however, Meshaal reaffirmed establishment of sovereign Palestinian state.
“Hamas considers the establishment of a Palestinian state, sovereign and complete, on the basis of June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital and the provision for all the refugees to return to their homeland is an agreeable form that has won a consensus among all the movement members,” Meshaal vowed.
The document bearing the details regarding the latest policy shift categorically states that Hamsa was an independent organisation and that its fight was with the “Zionist project”, not with the religion of Judaism, making a distinction between those who believe in Judaism and “Zionist Israeli citizens who occupy Palestinian lands”.
Reacting to the latest presser by Meshaal, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas was attempting to fool the world but it would not succeed.
On the other hand, Mohammed Shtayyeh, a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee which runs the Palestinian Authority, and an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Hamas of being decades behind in its thinking.
“Hamas is debating things [the PLO] did 43 years ago,” he told CNN. “So what are they going to come up with? They are going to come up with a two-state solution.”
