Israel welcomes Hamas leader's move on recognition

[Shelor]

Israel on Sunday cautiously welcomed a statement by the Palestinian prime minister-designate that Hamas was ready to recognize it if Palestinians were given full rights and a state in occupied lands.

Hamas chose Ismail Haniyeh, a 43-year-old Gazan viewed by many Palestinians as a pragmatist, as the new prime minister after its election victory on January 25. The group hopes to complete forming a Palestinian government within two weeks.

"If Israel declares that it will give the Palestinian people a state and give them back all their rights, then we are ready to recognize them," Haniyeh told the Washington Post in an interview posted on its Web site.

Haniyeh said Hamas, whose charter calls to destroy Israel, was ready to consider talks if the Jewish state withdrew from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and recognised the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees who fled, or were forced to leave, in the 1948 war and their descendants.


http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-26T112509Z_01_L26380808_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST.xml

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Yes but Israel will not agree to this, not yet.

"Haniyeh said Hamas, whose charter calls to destroy Israel, was ready to consider talks if the Jewish state withdrew from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and recognised the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees who fled, or were forced to leave, in the 1948 war and their descendants."

This is the same deadlock they have been in for 30 years. Haniyeh simply restated the position that normalization requires implementation of UN resolution 242. The only step forward Hamas has made is that it has agreed to normalization if 242 is implemented. Not much of a step.

Israel cannot implement 242 as currrently it will not abandon its settlements in the West Bank, will not return East Jerusalem, and will never allow the millions of refugees from the 48 palestinian diaspora to return. Not at least until the Israelis grow so weary of their occupation that they finally give up on it. (Presumably the 'right of return' would get negotiated out of existence if the occupied territories are abandoned.)

The palestinians are not going to disappear or give up or leave. They have no where to go and nothing much left to lose. There is only one road to peace.

[still_one]

4. The only way it will have a chance if they take out

the right to return. That has always been a code word for destruction of Israel.

You are correct the Palestinians are not going to disappear, give up or leave, and neither are the Israelis.

Personally Jerusalem should be left as a world city, run by the U.N., unfortunately no one party will accept that

[AlamoDemoc]

2. Israel..show me the money! n/t

[Terran1212]

3. But Hamas are crazy terrorists!

But I guess they are not so crazy if they can be treated without racism.