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Hamas adheres to pre-1967 borders
by cynthia yoo | April 21, 2008 at 05:51 pm | 363 views | 4 comments
Following talks with former US President Carter in Syria this past weekend, Hamas reiterated their position regarding the borders between Israel and Palestine. Hamas will settle for nothing less than pre-1967 borders.
Speaking in Syria, where he lives in exile, Khaled Meshaal said the Palestinian state must have "Jerusalem as its capital, with genuine sovereignty, without settlements".
He added that this did not mean recognising Israel, but he said: "We have offered a truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, a truce of 10 years as an alternative to recognition."
The United States said Mr Meshaal's comments did not amount to a change of position by Hamas.
In any case, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "actions speak louder than words".
Many Israelis and their allies do not believe Hamas' offer of a truce, says the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen.
They cite the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Carter is less hopeful of progress in the Israeli-Palestine talks.
Mr Carter said Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking had "regressed" since the US hosted Middle East talks in November at Annapolis.He defended his talks with Mr Meshaal in Damascus.
"The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with someone who must be involved," he told Israel's Council on Foreign Relations.
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April 21, 2008 at 05:51 pm by cynthia yoo, 363 views, 4 comments
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Comments (4)
at 18:03 on April 21st, 2008
cynthia yoo, I like this story. It's good stuff. Excellent, Excellent Story Cynthia, hope to hear more on this from you!
at 18:04 on April 21st, 2008
cynthia yoo, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 18:20 on April 21st, 2008
cynthia yoo, you've convinced me you've done the work - it's authentic. I also think that you've been fair and thorough. I didn't get the sense that you were hiding your biases, or passing off other's work as your own. Or worse -- getting paid by those you cover -- so it's transparent and independent. I also think you deserve praise for being an eyewitness, and for your investigative efforts. Good stuff.
- reply
DoctorOkat 01:13 on April 22nd, 2008
The opinions relating to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute are as many as they are varied. I tend to be empathetic to both sides: Israel deserves the right to exist in peace and security, as does the Palestinians. Years ago, I had a verbal exchange with a Palestinian professor of mine when I was in university in Halifax who was astonished on how I couldn't be fully supportive of his cause. Suicide bombers aside, I told him that Israel and Palestine were both equally funded, Israel by its extensive and influential diaspora, and the Palestinians with billions of petro-dollars from anti-Israeli patrons. The difference between the 2 sides was remarkable. Israel has been focused and successful in building a first world nation-state, while the Palestinians have continued to live in the past, offering their people only squalor and rhetoric. There will come a time when peace will prevail, and Palestinian leaders such as Khaled Meshaal of Hamas will be accountable to their people for the lost decades of development prosperity, and hope in the name of stubbornness, hate and war.