Palestine: Conflicting Statements from Hamas on Israel's Right to Exist

Following a meeting in Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams on Wednesday, Aziz Dwaik, a Hamas senior representative and the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the West Bank, said that Hamas has accepted Israel’s right to exist and would be prepared to alter its charter.

There have been two developments since then. Firstly, there have been contradictory signals from Hamas, with some officials saying the group accepts the two-state solution but only as a temporary measure and others declaring that they accept Israel's right to exist and want dialogue.

Palestine: Hamas & Fatah Battle Over Legitimacy of Legislative Council
Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu Makes A Move on the West Bank

Mahmoud Ramahi, another top Hamas operative in the West Bank, said that his movement was indeed willing to accept an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines, but only on a temporary basis and without recognizing Israel's right to exist.



Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas representative in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that his movement was considering the possibility of changing its charter. In an interview with the Saudi daily Okaz, Hamad said that the Hamas charter, like any other document, may be subject for changes and discussions. However, Hamad also stressed that "accepting" Israel did not mean that Hamas would "recognize" the Jewish state.

In contrast, Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas legislator and spokesman from the Gaza Strip, said that his movement was not seeking the destruction of Israel. Bardaweel spoke to a Hamas-affiliated Web site:

There is a huge difference between our demand to restore the Palestinian people's rights and the annihilation of Israel. We haven't said that [we want] to destroy Israel, but we are striving to restore our people's rights and refugees' right to return to their dwellings and land from which they were deported.

Meanwhile, the rival Palestinian organisation Fatah tried to exploit Hamas' apparent concession to Israel.. "The true face of Hamas has finally been exposed by Dwaik's remarks to the British millionaire," said Ahmad Assaf, a spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank. Asaf continued:

Hamas is seeking recognition of the international community at the expense of the Palestinians' interests and national rights. In one voice directed toward our people and Arabs and Muslims, Hamas is saying that it's a resistance movement. In another voice directed toward the international community, Hamas is talking about its readiness to recognize Israel and accept a long-term hudna [temporary truce].

At the same time, a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah condemned initiatives by some EU citizens and officials to talk to Hamas, accusing them of "ignoring the fact that Hamas had staged a coup in the Gaza Strip". He said:

Meetings between Hamas and Westerners is undermining efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Those who are trying to legitimize Hamas are harming the Palestinian Authority and any chance of achieving peace with Israel.

The Palestinian Authority has also sent an aggressive signal, as security agents on Sunday arrested six men who work as aides to Dwaik. The Hamas representative condemned the arrest of his aides as "an act of piracy" and "an assault on his parliamentary immunity". He also warned that the arrests could harm efforts by some Arab countries to achieve "national reconciliation" between Hamas and Fatah.

Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu Makes A Move on the West Bank

Following another round of failed talks with Washington's Mideast special envoy George Mitchell, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his first visit to West Bank settlements since he took office, "The settlements blocs in the West Bank are an indisputable part of Israel". He added, "This is an idea that is accepted by the majority of Israelis and is part of international agreements." Planting trees inside the settlement blocks, Netanyahu said he wanted to "send a clear message that we will stay here. We are planning and we are building."

Netanyahu's statement is a political declaration that any future agreement is not going to be based on pre-1967 borders and there will have to be some "adjustments" and "swaps" of territory. He is not only trying to ease settlers' discomfort following the declarations of a "one-time and temporary" moratorium; he is also implicitly warned interested parties that the longer the delay in pressure on the Palestinian Authority to sit at the negotiating table, the more land to be occupied by Israel.

Israel-Palestine: Former Israeli Head of Negotiations “No Agreement in Foreseeable Future”
UPDATED Israel-Palestine: George Mitchell’s “Fail, Fail, Fail” Middle East Tour?

After the release of Netanyahu's words, a harsh criticism came from Ramallah. "This is an unacceptable act that destroys all the efforts being exerted by Senator [George] Mitchell in order to bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.

Israel-Palestine: Former Israeli Head of Negotiations "No Agreement in Foreseeable Future"

Udi Dekel, who headed Israel's negotiating team during the Ehud Olmert Government, has declared, "I do not believe that in the foreseeable future there is a possibility of an agreement with the Palestinians on all the issues, especially on the problematic core issues."

According to Dekel, the main mistake of the Olmert Government, which was in power from May 2006 to March 2009, was the inability to implement any point agreed upon during negotiations:

The biggest mistake was that everything was based on the premise that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. We thought at the time that this could provide the necessary flexibility in the negotiations, but in practice, every time someone showed flexibility, the other side tried to pin him down. Therefore, I suggest that the model be changed and that whatever is agreed is implemented.

UPDATED Israel-Palestine: George Mitchell’s “Fail, Fail, Fail” Middle East Tour?

Dekel added that because "the Palestinians understood that the Americans were closer to their position on the issues of Jerusalem, the borders and security, [they] opted to wait it out", and discussions were stalemated:

The Palestinian approach was in principle the demand of 100 percent of their rights from 1967. The practical aspect interested them less. They are not willing to discuss any further compromise. We tried to build scenarios, some of them were imaginary, about specific compromises, but we found the Palestinians taking an approach of 'all or nothing.

Dekel now proposes adoption of a plan, floated by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, under which the focus would be the swift establishment of a Palestinian state, with borders and security the first issues to be negotiated:

The rest (of the issues) would be discussed in parallel but the establishment of a state would not be conditional on an overall agreement. The two sides are not ready for this at the moment and we should not believe that there is a way to get the sides to understand that this is the only relevant solution in this time frame.

Palestine: Hamas to Recognize Israel?

The Jerusalem Post reports that, following a meeting in Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams on Wednesday, Aziz Dwaik, a Hamas senior representative and the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the West Bank, said that Hamas has accepted Israel's right to exist and would be prepared to alter its charter.

Dwaik stated that all Hamas leaders, including Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal and Gaza-based leader Ismail Haniyeh, have voiced support for the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 boundaries. He added: "The [Hamas] charter was drafted more than 20 years ago. No one wants to throw anyone into the sea."

UPDATED Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu’s New Condition: “Israeli Presence in West Bank”

Meanwhile, Abrahams told the newspaper that he would urge British Foreign Minister David Milliband to "consider the implications of Hamas's positive overtures."

UPDATED Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu's New Condition: "Israeli Presence in West Bank"

UPDATE 0915 GMT: Varying responses on Thursday to Netanyahu's statement. Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat declared that Netanyahu is working to end the possibility of a two-state solution: "Netanyahu calls for the Palestinians to resume peace talks, he is effectually leaving the Palestinians nothing to negotiate about." Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said his leadership "rejects the presence of any Israeli soldier within the borders of the future Palestinian state".

There was also criticism within Israel. Meir Sheetrit, a member of Parliament of the opposition Kadima Party, said, "Netanyahu was ruining any chance for negotiations and is proving, again and again, that he is not interested in peace. There is no way that the Palestinians would agree to such an offer, and whoever raises it should negotiate with himself."

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only harshly criticized the Palestinian Authority's "pre-conditions" for re-starting negotiations but set a new condition for a future peace agreement. Netanyahu said that Israel must have a presence in the West Bank to stop rockets from being imported even after an accord is signed.


Referring to the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, Netanyahu said: "We are surrounded by an ever-growing arsenal of rockets placed in the Iranian-supported enclaves to the north and to the south" and added, "In the case of a future settlement with the Palestinians, this will require an Israeli presence on the eastern side of a prospective Palestinian state."

Netanyahu was critical of the authority of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu said that "Palestinians are climbing up a tree", as Israelis are calling them to the negotiation tent, by "piling [on] pre-conditions" such as "the refugee problem, security concerns or the Jewish state matter."

Israel-Palestine: An Economic Platform for the Peace Process?
Israel-Palestine: US Envoy Mitchell Asking for Temporary Halt to Settlements