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Hamas to
honour referendum on peace with Israel
Thursday December 02, 2010 08:28:36 AM ,
Agencies
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Gaza:
The Hamas movement would accept the outcome of a Palestinian
referendum on a future peace treaty with the Jewish state, its
Gaza leader said on Wednesday.
Ismael Haniyeh, addressing a news conference in the
Israeli-blockaded enclave, signaled a softening of Hamas’
long-standing position prohibiting the ceding of any part of the
land of what was British-mandated Palestine until 1948.
“We accept a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with
Jerusalem as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners,
and the resolution of the issue of refugees,” Haniyeh said,
referring to the year of Middle East war in which Israel captured
East Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories.
“Hamas will respect the results (of a referendum) regardless of
whether it differs with its ideology and principles,” he said,
provided it included all Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and
the diaspora. The Hamas charter, drafted in 1988, regards all of
the land of Palestine, including what is now Israel, as the
heritage of Muslims.
The idea of a referendum on a future peace accord with Israel was
rejected by some Hamas leaders when it was proposed by Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas several months ago.
Negotiations between Abbas and Israel have since faltered over
Israel’s refusal to halt settlement building in the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem.
Haniyeh said Israel was not willing to give the Palestinians a
fully sovereign state and he therefore had no hope the fragile US-
brokered attempts to revive peacemaking would succeed. He said his
movement was willing to cooperate with Western and European
countries “who want to help the Palestinian people regain their
rights.”
The United States and European Union shun Hamas as a terrorist
organization and do not recognize its Gaza authority.
“We urge European foreign ministers to revise their position
regarding meetings with the elected government,” Haniyeh said,
adding that contacts were being made with United Nations officials
in the Gaza Strip in this regard.
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