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Hamas leader: State on 1967 borders, but no Israel recognition

11 May 2011 22:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Hamas will accept a Palestinian state on 1967 borders but will not recognize Israel, a senior Hamas leader said, APA reports quoting jta.org web-page.
Recognizing Israel would "cancel the right of the next generations to liberate the lands," Mahmoud Zahar told the Ma’an Palestinian news service on Wednesday.
Zahar’s remarks, however, were a departure from the Islamist group’s previous demands that a Palestinian state must only be established "from the river to the sea," referring to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea -- area that includes all of Israel.
He also said that recognizing Israel would jeopardize the Palestinian right of return to areas in Israel.
"What will be the fate of the 5 million Palestinians in the diaspora?" Zahar told Ma’an.
Zahar said that his organization, as part of its unity deal with Fatah, would maintain a truce with Israel, but he said that a "truce is not peace."