Hans Rustad Hamas leder i eksil, Khaled Mashal, sier Israel er et faktum, og at det må opprettes en palestinsk stat. Noen tolker det som et første skritt mot anerkjennelse, men Hamas-talsmenn var raskt ute og benektet dette.
I Reuters-intervjuet forsøker journalisten hele tiden å få Meshal til å si at Hamas en gang i fremtiden kan komme til å anerkjenne Israel. Meshal nekter å svare på det. Han sier at «Israel er et faktum innenfor 67-grensene». Den som har sett Meshal i intervjuer vet at han ikke er en spesielt diplomatisk person. Men selv denne konstateringen var åpenbart på grensen for Hamas.
Q: Does that mean you can formally recognize Israel?
A: We as Hamas and as Palestinians do not talk about recognizing Israel or accepting it as a reality. As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or a state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land. This is reality but I don’t deal with it from the point of view of recognizing or admitting it. It is a fact that was the
result of historical factors.
Mashals uttalelser er preget av motsigelser. Han sier Hamas ikke vil la seg lure til forhandlinger om gradvise innrømmelser, slik som Fatah. Han kalte «veikartet for fred» for utpressing.
Hamas’ problemer med å endre standpunkt ble enda tydligere da talsmenn rykket ut og sa Reuters hadde feilsitert ham.
One hour after the Reuters interview was published, the Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad told Haaretz that Meshal said, «Israel exists – and that’s a fact.»
However, Hamad maintained that Meshal did not say anything about recognizing Israel. «There was no change in our stance that Hamas does not recognize Israel,» he said.
Salah Bardawil, head of Hamas’s parliamentary faction, told Haaretz that after checking with Meshal, it seems to be that his words were twisted and distorted.
«He didn’t speak about any recognition of Israel, only a cease-fire with Israel,» Bardawil said.
Den som kjenner Reuters’ sitatrutiner vet at det som sendes ut i anførselstegn alltid kan dokumenteres.
One European diplomat said in Jerusalem that Mr Meshal had not gone far enough for economic sanctions to be lifted. It would have been better, he said, if he had endorsed the 2002 Arab peace plan, which offered full peace in return for Israel’s withdrawal from all territories occupied in the 1967 war.
Observatører mener Hamas’ popularitet er svekket etter at bevegelsen har foretatt to spektakulære drap på Fatah-ledere med deres familier.
Hamas Leader Says Israel’s Existence Is a Reality
