Mashaal: Hamas will be part of any solution
In rare New York Times interview, Hamas politburo chief says organization eager for ceasefire with Israel, prisoner exchange deal, but refuses to recognize Jewish state's right to exist. He also praises US President Obama for his 'different and positive language'
He added that his organization was eager for a ceasefire with Israel and for a deal that would return kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for many Palestinian prisoners.
This was Mashaal's first interview to an American news organization in a year, and its goal, he said, was "to understand Hamas is to listen to its vision directly."
Mashaal reiterated stances voiced in the past, in regards to the Palestinian group's willingness to sign a long-term truce with a state on the 1967 borders, including east Jerusalem and the right of return.
Asked what “long-term” meant, he said 10 years. He refused, however, to recognize the Jewish state's existence, clarifying that "there is only one enemy in the region, and that is Israel."
In this context, Mashaal noted that Palestinian leaders Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas had granted such recognition, but to no avail. “Did that recognition lead to an end of the occupation? It’s just a pretext by the United States and Israel to escape dealing with the real issue and to throw the ball into the Arab and Palestinian court,” he said.
'Hamas charter a 20-year-old document'
The Hamas leader explained the current lull on the ground by saying that his organization has stopped firing rockets at Israel "for now". However, he did not provide a clear explanation for the reasons for the truce, apart from saying that it "serves the Palestinians' interest."
"After all, the firing is a method, not a goal," he said. "Resistance is a legitimate right, but practicing such a right comes under an evaluation by the movement’s leaders.”
Asked about the Hamas charter, which calls for the obliteration of Israel through jihad and cites as fact the infamous anti-Semitic forgery", Mashaal did not offer to revoke the charter, but said it was 20 years old. “We are shaped by our experiences," he added.
The Hamas leader went on to express his satisfaction with US President Barack Obama, whose language, he said, "is different and positive.” However, he expressed unhappiness about Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying hers “is a language that reflects the old administration policies.”
Mashaal, who barely escaped assassination at the hands of Israeli agents in 1997 in Jordan, was asked if he feared assassination. He replied by saying that he did not fear and would view it as martyrdom. “Death has become like drinking water," he concluded.
