Hamas politician hints of possible change in attitude towards Israel

HEBRON (WJC)–Hamas is reportedly ready to accept Israel’s right to exist and prepared to nullify its charter which calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, according to Aziz Dwaik, Hamas’s most senior representative in the West Bank and the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

According to the ‘Jerusalem Post’ Dwaik made these remarks during a meeting in Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams, who maintains close ties with senior Israeli and British government officials.

However, the Hamas politician later on Thursday denied that he had made any such statements. Dwaik was quoted on the Hamas website as saying that the report was “inaccurate” and that Hamas would never recognize the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Abrahams told the ‘Jerusalem Post’ that he would urge British Foreign Minister David Milliband to “consider the implications of Hamas’s positive overtures.”

“The [Hamas] charter was drafted more than 20 years ago,” Dwaik was quoted by the newspaper as saying, adding that “No one wants to throw anyone into the sea.”

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress