Hamas leader says militant group satisfied state with pre-1967 lands, offers 10-year truce

Hamas leader says militant

The Associated Press
Published: April 21, 2008

DAMASCUS, Syria:

Hamas would accept a Palestinian state on only part of the land it claims and would grant Israel a 10-year "hudna," or truce, as an implicit proof of recognition if Israel withdraws from those areas, the Palestinian militant group's leader said Monday.

Khaled Mashaal's comments were one of the clearest outlines Hamas has given for what it would do if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, which it seized in 1967. He suggested Hamas would accept Israel's existence alongside a Palestinian state on the rest of the lands Israel has held since 1948.

However, Mashaal told reporters in Damascus that Hamas would not formally recognize Israel.