While Khaled Meshaal, 50, acknowledged the existence of Israel, he said formal recognition by the group will only be considered when an Arab state has been created alongside Israel.
Softening a previous refusal to accept the Jewish state’s existence, the Hamas politburo chief said Israel was a “reality.”
Meshaal granted the interview in the Syrian capital Damascus , where he has been living since Jordan issued an arrest warrant for him in 1999. Two years earlier Meshaal survived an assassination attempt by Mossad agents who tried to poison him on the streets of Amman .
“The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel,” said Meshaal. “The problem is that the Palestinian state is non-existent.”
Israel and Western governments have implemented financial sanctions against the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government for refusing to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previously signed peace accords. The embargo has severely impacted the economy in the PA.
Meshaal said Hamas would defy the West's conditions and refuse to consider formal recognition of the Jewish state until the PA became a full fledged state.
Changing the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, was also a matter for the future, he added.
“The distant future will have its own circumstances and positions could be determined then,” he said.
Meshaal said Hamas backed Arab demands that a future state should include Gaza , Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem , and that Israel should accept the right of Arab refugees to return to homes lost in the 1967 Six Day War and the 1948 War of Israeli Independence.
“As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land,” said Meshaal.
“This is a reality but I won’t deal with it in terms of recognizing or admitting it,” he added.
Mashal was born and grew up in the Silwad neighborhood of Ramallah, then ruled by Jordan. His family moved to Kuwait and lived there until 1991 Gulf War.
Softening a previous refusal to accept the Jewish state’s existence, the Hamas politburo chief said Israel was a “reality.”
Meshaal granted the interview in the Syrian capital Damascus , where he has been living since Jordan issued an arrest warrant for him in 1999. Two years earlier Meshaal survived an assassination attempt by Mossad agents who tried to poison him on the streets of Amman .
“The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel,” said Meshaal. “The problem is that the Palestinian state is non-existent.”
Israel and Western governments have implemented financial sanctions against the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government for refusing to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previously signed peace accords. The embargo has severely impacted the economy in the PA.
Meshaal said Hamas would defy the West's conditions and refuse to consider formal recognition of the Jewish state until the PA became a full fledged state.
Changing the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, was also a matter for the future, he added.
“The distant future will have its own circumstances and positions could be determined then,” he said.
Meshaal said Hamas backed Arab demands that a future state should include Gaza , Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem , and that Israel should accept the right of Arab refugees to return to homes lost in the 1967 Six Day War and the 1948 War of Israeli Independence.
“As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land,” said Meshaal.
“This is a reality but I won’t deal with it in terms of recognizing or admitting it,” he added.
Mashal was born and grew up in the Silwad neighborhood of Ramallah, then ruled by Jordan. His family moved to Kuwait and lived there until 1991 Gulf War.