Spoetnik
03-12-04, 17:30
Senior Hamas man: We accept Israel living in peace, security
By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
In an apparent change in long-standing policy, a top Hamas leader said Friday the militant Islamic group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as a long-term truce with Israel.
Hamas has long sought to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamic Palestinian state, rejecting peace accords and carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks that have killed hundreds of people and badly damaged peace efforts.
"Hamas has announced that it accepts a Palestinian independent state within the 1967 borders with a long-term truce," Sheikh Hassan Yousef, the top Hamas leader in the West Bank, told The Associated Press, referring to lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
Yousef said the Hamas position was new and called it a "stage." In the past, Hamas has said it would accept a state in the 1967 borders as a first step to taking over Israel. Yousef did not spell out the conditions for the renewable cease-fire nor did he say how long it would last.
"For us a truce means that two warring parties live side by side in peace and security for a certain period and this period is eligible for renewal," Yousef said. "That means Hamas accepts that the other party will live in security and peace."
Yousef's comments indicated that four years of fighting with Israel - during which the Israel Defense Forces has targeted the group's top leaders - along with international sanctions, have taken a toll.
Yasser Arafat's death last month and a drive by new PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas to renew talks with Israel after the January election for new Palestinian leader also appears to have changed Hamas' policy.
Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said Abbas noticed in meetings Hamas leaders on Thursday that there were "some real developments in their policies," but refused to elaborate.
Yousef said that Hamas, which said Wednesday it would boycott the January vote, was planning to participate in Palestinian politics. It had previously shunned any role in the Palestinian Authority because it rejected interim peace accords with Israel that created the governing body.
"Hamas wants to join the Palestinian political leadership and there are meetings over this issue," he said. "Hamas being a part of the political equation means Hamas will deal with the other party (Israel)."
A-Zahar says Hamas may suspend attacks
Just the day before, another senior Hamas member said after talks with Abbas in Gaza that the group could soon suspend attacks against Israel.
Mahmoud a-Zahar said Hamas will enter negotiations with Fatah over halting attacks against Israel, probably next week.
"If the Israelis stop their aggression against our people, I think through the negotiations... we can reach a final agreement," a-Zahar said.
In a speech to journalists Thursday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel would halt offensive military operations in Palestinian areas if calm prevails.
Sharon said that Israel would not be part of a Palestinian cease-fire, but that it has a vested interest in calm. Israel reserves the right to hit any Qassam rocket squads or suicide bombers it spots, he said.
He added that Israel will want to coordinate security arrangements for the planned evacuation of the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank and for the transfer of evacuated territories with the Palestinians. Any gunfire during the evacuation would prompt Israel "to respond in an extremely harsh manner," he said.
Since Arafat's death on November 11, Abbas has held talks with different factions, led by Hamas, in a bid to secure a cease-fire.
Abbas initially received from the factions an agreement to avoid an escalation of violence with Israel in the run-up to the elections. The other aim of the talks, however, was to reach a general cease-fire, which has not yet been achieved.
Sharon said if the Palestinians tackle terror and both sides fulfill their obligations, negotiations could be resumed according to the road map.
Sharon also said that incitement in the Palestinian media has dropped noticeably since his public call for Palestinian leaders to stop the incitement as a precondition for negotiations. He said the Palestinians had asked not to hold diplomatic negotiations until after the PA election on January 9, but that meanwhile, contact is "nearly daily, mainly to do with coordinating various things."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/509841.html
By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
In an apparent change in long-standing policy, a top Hamas leader said Friday the militant Islamic group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as a long-term truce with Israel.
Hamas has long sought to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamic Palestinian state, rejecting peace accords and carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks that have killed hundreds of people and badly damaged peace efforts.
"Hamas has announced that it accepts a Palestinian independent state within the 1967 borders with a long-term truce," Sheikh Hassan Yousef, the top Hamas leader in the West Bank, told The Associated Press, referring to lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
Yousef said the Hamas position was new and called it a "stage." In the past, Hamas has said it would accept a state in the 1967 borders as a first step to taking over Israel. Yousef did not spell out the conditions for the renewable cease-fire nor did he say how long it would last.
"For us a truce means that two warring parties live side by side in peace and security for a certain period and this period is eligible for renewal," Yousef said. "That means Hamas accepts that the other party will live in security and peace."
Yousef's comments indicated that four years of fighting with Israel - during which the Israel Defense Forces has targeted the group's top leaders - along with international sanctions, have taken a toll.
Yasser Arafat's death last month and a drive by new PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas to renew talks with Israel after the January election for new Palestinian leader also appears to have changed Hamas' policy.
Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said Abbas noticed in meetings Hamas leaders on Thursday that there were "some real developments in their policies," but refused to elaborate.
Yousef said that Hamas, which said Wednesday it would boycott the January vote, was planning to participate in Palestinian politics. It had previously shunned any role in the Palestinian Authority because it rejected interim peace accords with Israel that created the governing body.
"Hamas wants to join the Palestinian political leadership and there are meetings over this issue," he said. "Hamas being a part of the political equation means Hamas will deal with the other party (Israel)."
A-Zahar says Hamas may suspend attacks
Just the day before, another senior Hamas member said after talks with Abbas in Gaza that the group could soon suspend attacks against Israel.
Mahmoud a-Zahar said Hamas will enter negotiations with Fatah over halting attacks against Israel, probably next week.
"If the Israelis stop their aggression against our people, I think through the negotiations... we can reach a final agreement," a-Zahar said.
In a speech to journalists Thursday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel would halt offensive military operations in Palestinian areas if calm prevails.
Sharon said that Israel would not be part of a Palestinian cease-fire, but that it has a vested interest in calm. Israel reserves the right to hit any Qassam rocket squads or suicide bombers it spots, he said.
He added that Israel will want to coordinate security arrangements for the planned evacuation of the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank and for the transfer of evacuated territories with the Palestinians. Any gunfire during the evacuation would prompt Israel "to respond in an extremely harsh manner," he said.
Since Arafat's death on November 11, Abbas has held talks with different factions, led by Hamas, in a bid to secure a cease-fire.
Abbas initially received from the factions an agreement to avoid an escalation of violence with Israel in the run-up to the elections. The other aim of the talks, however, was to reach a general cease-fire, which has not yet been achieved.
Sharon said if the Palestinians tackle terror and both sides fulfill their obligations, negotiations could be resumed according to the road map.
Sharon also said that incitement in the Palestinian media has dropped noticeably since his public call for Palestinian leaders to stop the incitement as a precondition for negotiations. He said the Palestinians had asked not to hold diplomatic negotiations until after the PA election on January 9, but that meanwhile, contact is "nearly daily, mainly to do with coordinating various things."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/509841.html