A senior Hamas official has said the movement could declare a 10-year truce with Israel if the Jewish state pulled out from territory occupied since 1967.
Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi told Reuters late Sunday that Hamas had reached the conclusion that it was "difficult to liberate all our land at this stage, so we accept a phased liberation."
"We accept a state in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. We propose a 10-year truce in return for [Israeli] withdrawal and the establishment of a state," he told the agency in a telephone interview from the Gaza Strip.
Rantissi said that any such new proposal would not mean that Hamas recognized Israel or indicate the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Rantissi conveyed the truce could last 10 years, though "not more than 10 years."
Furthermore, Rantissi said discussion within Hamas on accepting a state in just the West Bank and Gaza was not new, but that "the movement has taken a decision on this."
Moreover, Rantissi said he did not expect Israel to respond favorably to the new suggestion, "when it has rejected the Palestinian Authority's offer for less land than what we are proposing." (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
