Hamas Accepts State Within 1967 Borders: Meshaal

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Portion below; whole thing here: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=108523&d=3&m=4&y=2008

RAMALLAH, 3 April 2008 — Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said that his movement supports the united Palestinian position that calls for the establishment of a fully sovereign state within the 1967 borders, including Jerusalem, and refugees’ right to return.

In an interview published yesterday in Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, Meshaal referred to the 2006 prisoners’ document as proof of this. “There is a Palestinian document and in it all organizations say they agree to a state in the 1967 borders.”

The prisoners’ document, also known as the National Reconciliation Document, was drafted by members of different Palestinian factions held in an Israeli prison, including Fatah and Hamas. It calls for the “establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on all territories occupied in 1967.”

The Damascus-based leader said the Palestinian position had received a vote of consensus during the national accords of 2006 and that this position is considered acceptable to the Arab world. He called on ordinary Israelis to pressure on their government to stop aggression against the Palestinians in light of this document.

When asked about claims by Israel and the United States that Hamas is seeking to destroy Israel, Meshaal said his movement has committed itself to a political plan, which it follows, and called on America, Europe and other international entities to conduct themselves in accordance with this political truth, and to judge Hamas based on its political plan, not on what people imagine.

The Hamas leader also said there had been several Israeli attempts to contact him, but he had turned them down. He explained in the interview that Hamas is interested in a complete ceasefire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but that Israel is willing to agree to such a deal only in the Gaza Strip. He said secret contacts are under way with the Europeans and that the Americans are applying pressure to keep these contacts from broadening.

Regarding the prisoner exchange deal for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Meshaal said that it is not linked to the ceasefire and that negotiations are not progressing at this point. He said the Egyptians are still mediating and that some Europeans are contributing — something that the Egyptians know about.