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12-03-2004, 10:18 PM
1:23 PM PST, December 3, 2004
Hamas Leader Says Group Will Accept Palestinian State
Statement could signal militants' willingness to coexist with Israel, a break with group's historical mission.
By Laura King, Times Staff Writer
JERUSALEM — A leader of Hamas said today that the militant group could endorse the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hinting at acceptance of Israel's right to exist.
However, it was unclear whether the official, Sheik Hassan Yousef, spoke with the full backing of the organization. Israel called his statements highly conditional and said they would need to be backed by deeds.
Hamas, which is formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, has long been sworn to Israel's destruction. It has killed and maimed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings.
The group has joined other Palestinian factions in jockeying for influence in advance of an election scheduled for Jan. 9 to replace the late Palestinian Authority president, Yasser Arafat. Although Hamas is boycotting the vote, it enjoys a large following among Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, and its views carry considerable weight.
In recent days, the militant group has issued several statements that could point to a softening of its previous stance — accompanied, however, by a series of demands that Israel considers unacceptable.
Hamas says it seeks a pullout of all Israeli forces and Jewish settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, together with sovereignty over East Jerusalem, the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and the tearing down of the security barrier Israel is building in the West Bank.
"Everything I am saying about the possibility of a cease-fire and a sovereign Palestinian state is in line with statements by Sheik Ahmed Yassin," Yousef said in a telephone interview from the West Bank town of Ramallah, referring to the Hamas spiritual leader who was assassinated by Israel in March.
The West Bank leadership of Hamas, of which Yousef is part, is considered less influential than its policymaking echelon in the Gaza Strip and outside the Palestinian territories, primarily in Syria. However, Yousef was recently released from nearly two years in an Israeli prison, and such jail time customarily bestows a measure of prestige on militant leaders.
An Israeli official said that despite a lull in attacks by militant groups since Arafat's death Nov. 11, he saw no reason to believe that Hamas' ideology has undergone any real change.
"I'd like Hamas to turn into a democratic party, but there is no indication they are about to do so," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "I haven't seen any serious questioning of the principles of jihad, or anyone saying the strategy of suicide bombings is morally offensive."
Hamas has said in the past it would accept the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza only as a prelude to a state encompassing all of historic Palestine, including present-day Israel.
Yousef told the Reuters news agency that if Israel bowed to Hamas' conditions, "we can have a cease-fire for a period of time It may be a long period."
On Thursday, Gaza-based Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar indicated that the group might consider a halt to attacks against Israel to help ensure that the presidential election could be carried out. Hamas' last major attack was a double bus bombing on Aug. 31 in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba, which killed 16 passengers.
Israel has said it will act with military restraint in advance of the Palestinian elections as long as relative calm prevails, but said its forces reserve the right to strike in there is an intelligence warning of an imminent attack.
Despite a lower level of confrontations, scattered violence persisted. Today, Israeli troops shot and killed a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank town of Jenin.
The Israeli army said the slain man, Mahmoud Hammad, was trying to evade capture after troops surrounded the safe house where he was
hiding.
Hamas Leader Says Group Will Accept Palestinian State
Statement could signal militants' willingness to coexist with Israel, a break with group's historical mission.
By Laura King, Times Staff Writer
JERUSALEM — A leader of Hamas said today that the militant group could endorse the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hinting at acceptance of Israel's right to exist.
However, it was unclear whether the official, Sheik Hassan Yousef, spoke with the full backing of the organization. Israel called his statements highly conditional and said they would need to be backed by deeds.
Hamas, which is formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, has long been sworn to Israel's destruction. It has killed and maimed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings.
The group has joined other Palestinian factions in jockeying for influence in advance of an election scheduled for Jan. 9 to replace the late Palestinian Authority president, Yasser Arafat. Although Hamas is boycotting the vote, it enjoys a large following among Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, and its views carry considerable weight.
In recent days, the militant group has issued several statements that could point to a softening of its previous stance — accompanied, however, by a series of demands that Israel considers unacceptable.
Hamas says it seeks a pullout of all Israeli forces and Jewish settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, together with sovereignty over East Jerusalem, the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and the tearing down of the security barrier Israel is building in the West Bank.
"Everything I am saying about the possibility of a cease-fire and a sovereign Palestinian state is in line with statements by Sheik Ahmed Yassin," Yousef said in a telephone interview from the West Bank town of Ramallah, referring to the Hamas spiritual leader who was assassinated by Israel in March.
The West Bank leadership of Hamas, of which Yousef is part, is considered less influential than its policymaking echelon in the Gaza Strip and outside the Palestinian territories, primarily in Syria. However, Yousef was recently released from nearly two years in an Israeli prison, and such jail time customarily bestows a measure of prestige on militant leaders.
An Israeli official said that despite a lull in attacks by militant groups since Arafat's death Nov. 11, he saw no reason to believe that Hamas' ideology has undergone any real change.
"I'd like Hamas to turn into a democratic party, but there is no indication they are about to do so," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "I haven't seen any serious questioning of the principles of jihad, or anyone saying the strategy of suicide bombings is morally offensive."
Hamas has said in the past it would accept the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza only as a prelude to a state encompassing all of historic Palestine, including present-day Israel.
Yousef told the Reuters news agency that if Israel bowed to Hamas' conditions, "we can have a cease-fire for a period of time It may be a long period."
On Thursday, Gaza-based Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar indicated that the group might consider a halt to attacks against Israel to help ensure that the presidential election could be carried out. Hamas' last major attack was a double bus bombing on Aug. 31 in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba, which killed 16 passengers.
Israel has said it will act with military restraint in advance of the Palestinian elections as long as relative calm prevails, but said its forces reserve the right to strike in there is an intelligence warning of an imminent attack.
Despite a lower level of confrontations, scattered violence persisted. Today, Israeli troops shot and killed a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank town of Jenin.
The Israeli army said the slain man, Mahmoud Hammad, was trying to evade capture after troops surrounded the safe house where he was
hiding.