Hamas: '67 border deal doesn't include recognition of Israel
Published yesterday (updated) 19/05/2010 20:05
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=285466

Gaza – Ma'an – Hamas' acceptance of 1967 borders, in exchange for a 10-year
truce, would not involve the recognition of Israel, senior Hamas official
Khalil Al-Haya said Wednesday.

The proposal put forward by Hamas would see the acceptance of a Palestinian
state "in stages" on the green line, the 1967 armistice line, with East
Jerusalem as its capital, and "the return of all refugees without
recognizing Israel in exchange for a 10-year truce," Al-Haya said during a
Hamas conference to mark Nakba Day in Gaza City's Ash-Shuja'iyeh
neighborhood.

"This means that if the international community grants the right of return
to the six million Palestinian refugees across the world to their homes in
Haifa, Yaffa, and Akko [Acre], then there will no longer be an occupying
state," Al-Haya said.

The return of Palestinian refugees, he said, would signal the end of Israeli
occupation, and was paramount in the movement's 1967 border proposal.

Israel is waging a "fierce war to terminate this right," the Hamas official
said, adding that the right return is "the cornerstone of the Palestinian
cause."

"These rights will not be restored but by force," he added.

Moreover, the offer put forward by the Islamist movement "differs greatly
from that of Fatah," concerning the creation of a Palestinian state on 1967
borders.

"The Palestinians should be prepared with culture, faith, weapons and unity
among each other," Al-Haya said.

"The siege will not be lifted without more power and steadfastness because
the world does respect the weak and knows no mercy," The Hamas official
added.

Al-Haya called on rival movement Fatah to consider other options put forward
by Palestinian factions in relation to the peace process, saying "come, let
us have unity among our people on Palestinian principles. Why should we
deprive our people of open options."

Two weeks prior, the Gaza government confirmed that it had reached out to
the US administration in written letters, denying, however, that notes were
related to a ceasefire deal.

"The government sent a letter to US president Barack Obama a few months ago
calling for an end to Israel's siege and an end the double standards
[America] employed while dealing with the Palestinian cause," de facto
government spokesman Taher An-Nunu said via news release on Monday.

The comments followed a report in Hebrew language Israeli daily newspaper
Yedioth Ahronoth, which said de facto government Prime Minister Ismail
Haniyeh had written to Obama two weeks ago saying he was prepared "recognize
Israel within the 1967 borders in exchange for a ceasefire agreement."

The letters, An-Nunu said, contained nothing that was not part of official
government policy, which includes the right to resist Israeli forces until
they withdraw from areas occupied in 1967.

The letter simply "included a request for Obama to change his policy towards
the Palestinian people and their rights," An-Nunu wrote.