Hamas' Teasing Recognition of Israel

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in an interview published on April 2 in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, focused attention again on an enigmatic Palestinian document that appears to recognize Israel's right to exist. "There is a Palestinian document," Meshaal said from his office in Damascus, "and in it all organizations say they agree to a state in the 1967 borders."

The 18-point National Conciliation Document, also known as the Prisoners’ Document, was drafted on May 11, 2006 by Palestinian prisoners held in an Israeli jail. It was revised on June 28, 2006. It calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 Israeli borders — in Gaza and the West Bank, with Jerusalem as its capital. It also calls for "the right of return for [Palestinian] refugees to their homes and properties from which they were evicted." Which is to say, return to Israel proper (or Palestine, depending on the perspective).

The document, signed by both Hamas and Fatah representatives, has been interpreted as a tacit recognition of Israel’s right to exist. But is it, really? The document does give more credence to political rather than military action--"to unify Palestinian political discourse on the basis of the Palestinian national goals as mentioned in this document and according to Arab legitimacy." But the document also calls for "a unified resistance front called the 'Palestinian Resistance Front' to lead and engage in resistance against the occupation and to unify and coordinate resistance action and work on defining a unified political reference for the front." Does that mean resisting occupation in the occupied territories or beyond? That's not clear.

Fatah recognized Israel’s right to exist in 1993. Hamas’ charter calls for the elimination of Israel in no uncertain terms. Meshaal and other Hamas leaders do an excellent job od cuking the direct question, when it is posed to them: Do they still want Israel's destruction? Conveniently for Hamas, "Israel" doesn't even exist as such, so the answer typically falls back on sophistry along the lines of liberating what belongs to the Palestinians (which could well mean the occupied territories) from the "Zionist entity" without having to mention Israel by name, or being pinned to its current geography.