Hamas May Accept Statehood in West Bank [View All]

In an incredible change of direction, a Hamas spokesman says that the terrorist organization will accept a 2 state solution: Israel and Palestine...

Hamas May Accept Statehood in West Bank
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer

RAMALLAH, West Bank - "In an apparent change in long-standing policy, a top Hamas leader said Friday the militant group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites) as well as a long-term truce with Israel.

Hamas' statement came as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak described Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as the Palestinians' best chance for peace.

Mubarak's comments could mean warming relations between Israel and an important Mideast peace mediator at a crucial time. It was a marked departure from past comments from Mubarak and other Egyptian officials blaming Sharon for the escalation of violence in the territories.

"I think if they (Palestinians) can't achieve progress in the time of the current (Israeli) prime minister, it will be very difficult to make any progress in peace," Mubarak told reporters.

Hamas has long sought to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamic Palestinian state, rejecting peace accords and carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks that have killed hundreds of people and badly damaged peace efforts.

"Hamas has announced that it accepts a Palestinian independent state within the 1967 borders with a long-term truce," Sheik Hassan Yousef, the top Hamas leader in the West Bank, told The Associated Press, referring to lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war..."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians