Mashaal: We accept state on '67 borders

Hamas leader cites 2006 document as proof - a text that does not explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist.

Mashaal 224 (photo credit: AP)
Mashaal 224
(photo credit: AP)
Hamas agrees to a Palestinian state established along the 1967 borders, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says. In an interview published Wednesday in Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayam, Mashaal referred to the 2006 prisoners' document as proof of this, saying "There is a Palestinian document and in it all organizations say they agree to a state in the 1967 borders." The prisoners' document, also known as the National Reconciliation Document, was drafted by members of different Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas, held in an Israeli prison. It calls for the "establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on all the territories occupied in 1967," but does not explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist within its pre-1967 borders. Mashaal called on Israelis to pressure their government to stop aggression against the Palestinians in light of this document. Asked about Hamas's image as an organization dedicated to Israel's destruction, the Damascus-based Hamas leader answered that the group was obligated to the plan presented in the document and should be judged accordingly.