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Hamas drops call for destruction of Israel from manifesto
· Shift comes in lead-up to Palestinian election
· Commitment to armed struggle remains
By Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
01/12/06 "The
Guardian" -- -- Hamas has dropped its call for the
destruction of Israel from its manifesto for the Palestinian
parliamentary election in a fortnight, a move that brings the group
closer to the mainstream Palestinian position of building a state
within the boundaries of the occupied territories.
The Islamist faction, responsible for a long campaign of suicide
bombings and other attacks on Israelis, still calls for the
maintenance of the armed struggle against occupation. But it steps
back from Hamas's 1988 charter demanding Israel's eradication and
the establishment of a Palestinian state in its place.
The manifesto makes no mention of the destruction of the Jewish
state and instead takes a more ambiguous position by saying that
Hamas had decided to compete in the elections because it would
contribute to "the establishment of an independent state whose
capital is Jerusalem".
The shift in emphasis comes as Hamas finds itself under pressure
from the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and from foreign
governments to accept Israel's right to exist and to end its
violence if it wants to be accepted as a political partner in a
future administration.
The group is expected to emerge as the second largest party after Mr
Abbas's Fatah in the next Palestinian parliament. Opinion polls give
it more than a third of the popular vote, built on a campaign
against Fatah's endemic corruption and mismanagement and failure to
contain growing criminality, and by claiming credit for driving the
Israeli army and settlers out of Gaza.
But the manifesto continues to emphasise the armed struggle. "Our
nation is at a stage of national liberation, and it has the right to
act to regain its rights and end the occupation by using all means,
including armed resistance," it says.
Gazi Hamad, a Hamas candidate in the Gaza Strip, yesterday said the
manifesto reflected the group's position of accepting an interim
state based on 1967 borders but leaving a final decision on whether
to recognise Israel to future generations.
"Hamas is talking about the end of the occupation as the basis for a
state, but at the same time Hamas is still not ready to recognise
the right of Israel to exist," he said. "We cannot give up the right
of the armed struggle because our territory is occupied in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem. That is the territory we are fighting to
liberate."
But Mr Hamad said the armed resistance was no longer Hamas's primary
strategy. "The policy is to maintain the armed struggle but it is
not our first priority. We know that first of all we have to put
more effort into resolving the internal problems, dealing with
corruption, blackmail, chaos. This is our priority because if we
change the situation for the Palestinians it will make our cause
stronger.
"Hamas is looking to establish a new political strategy in which all
Palestinian groups will participate, not just dominated by Fatah. We
will discuss the negotiation strategy, how can we run the conflict
with Israel but by different means."
Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian cabinet minister and member of the
secular Palestinian People's party, said he believed Hamas was being
forced to face reality as it prepared to sit in parliament, and that
it would have to embrace a negotiated settlement with Israel:
"Having Hamas inside the system is a positive development whereby
they have to abide by the rules of the majority and respect the
arguments of the administration they are part of, which includes a
state built on 1967 borders. It will take time but Hamas will no
longer have their own militia. It will be solely a political force."
But Israel's security establishment predicts that if Hamas does as
well as expected in the election it will damage the Palestinian
Authority and further undermine the prospects for an agreement.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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