Report: Meshal Says Hamas Accepts A Two-State Solution

[Purveyor]

Khaled Meshal, head of the Syrian branch of Hamas’ political bureau, has reportedly accepted the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has authorized King Abdullah of Jordan to convey the message on his behalf to U.S. President Barack Obama. His new stance marks a dramatic shift in Hamas' position on the long-standing conflict.

The revelation comes according to a report in the Saudi newspaper "Al-Sharq," which cited Jordanian sources, who said Meshal accepted the idea during a meeting this week with the Jordanian king.

The meeting is also said to have covered Palestinian reconciliation and relations with Jordan. So far neither Hamas nor Jordan has officially verified the Saudi report, but Meshal’s public statement after the meeting, in which he said, “Jordan is Jordan, and Palestine is Palestine, and any talks about relations between a Palestinian state and Jordan will only be held after the establishment of a Palestinian state,” more than hint at an essential change in Hamas’ position.

To date, Hamas has rejected the two-state solution, although it welcomed the Arab peace initiative whose core was the existence of two states based on the 1967 borders. In the past, however, Meshal has stressed that the 1967 borders are only a first step in the ultimate liberation of all of Palestine. This change in position is an extension of a previous shift in orientation in which Hamas, after fierce opposition, decided to support Mahmoud Abbas’ effort to gain international acceptance of Palestine as a non-member observer nation in the United Nations.

MORE...

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-meshal-says-hamas-accepts-a-two-state-solution.premium-1.500390

[sabbat hunter]

1. or not

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/hamas-renews-rejection-of-two-state-solution/

[zellie]

2. It was for western ears only.

To every one it was wipe Israel off the map.

You have be an idiot to believe anything this guy says.

[oberliner]

3. Hamas: Mashaal did not accept the two-state solution

"We will never agree to giving the Zionist state one inch of the land of Palestine," senior Hamas official says.

Hamas denied Thursday that its leader, Khaled Mashaal, had declared his acceptance of the two-state solution.

The denial came following a report in a Saudi-owned newspaper that claimed Mashaal had authorized Jordan’s King Abdullah to notify the US administration that Hamas had accepted the twostate solution.

Mashaal met with Abdullah in Amman earlier this week and discussed with him Jordan’s efforts to revive the peace process and ways of ending the Hamas-Fatah dispute.

“These claims are baseless,” said Izzat al-Risheq, a senior Hamas official. “The two-state solution issue was not discussed during the meeting between brother Mashaal and King Abdullah.”

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=301680