Hamas leader Mashaal acknowledges Israel exists

Hamas acknowledges the existence of Israel is an established fact, the movement's exiled leader Khaled Mashaal told Reuters on Wednesday, softening the group's refusal to recognise the Jewish state. Israel is a "reality" and "there will remain a state called Israel, this is a matter of fact," Mashaal said in an interview.

"The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel," said Meshaal, "the problem is that the Palestinian state is non-existent." (Reuters)