Hamas rep: We're ready to cancel charter

[shaayecanaan]

Hamas has accepted Israel's right to exist and would be prepared to nullify its charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, Aziz Dwaik, Hamas's most senior representative in the West Bank, said on Wednesday.

Dwaik's remarks are seen in the context of Hamas's attempts to win recognition from the international community.

Dwaik is the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He was released a few months ago after spending nearly three years in an Israeli prison.

Dwaik was among dozens of Hamas officials and members who were rounded up by Israel following the abduction of IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit near the Gaza Strip in June 2006.

His latest remarks were made during a meeting he held in Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams, who maintains close ties with senior Israeli and British government officials.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147942240&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[Recursion]

1. This will fall into the memory hole soon, I fear. NT

[bemildred]

2. Good guess.

But interesting nonetheless. I hadn't really registered that they had let these guys out either.

[Recursion]

3. I can read Arabic; the downside of that is getting other media sources

and having to deal with the cognitive dissonance therefrom.

[bemildred]

4. Awesome, I'm jealous.

I make do with what translations I can find, and some smattering of other languages to get a sense of how different it can be. But at least as an English reader there is a lot to choose from.

[shaayecanaan]

6. Apparently the only diplomatic achievements worth celebrating...

are the ones that allow American politicians to polish their lamps back home.

The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, which has hit a rock or two recently but was a significant development was not in this category so it was ignored.

Likewise, the situation in the Congo has improved, again without American stewardship, so it has likewise been ignored.

My guess is if the Americans simply packed their bags and left Europe to deal with the issue it might actually help things, for a couple of simple reasons:-

1) The Americans are not good at diplomacy, and only bother with it as a last resort when they have no stomach for doing anything else. Other countries recognise this and therefore do not take American diplomatic overtures seriously (the Paris peace talks come to mind).

2) America has some difficulty in being an honest broker, whereas both the Israelis and the Palestinians have had success conducting negotiations through other parties (such as the Germans) who are able to mediate talks with a greater degree of professionalism.

[azurnoir]

5. I would hope this is true n/t

[timeforpeace]

7. Yeah right. Every year about this time they do this, then the missles start flying.

[shaayecanaan]

8. Sort of like how about every three months or so...

you float over here and post a one-line tripe item such as the post above.

[Ken Burch]

9. It's a good sign that they're willing to do this

It was always clear that Israel was never going to be destroyed anyway, though.

I hope they go through with it.

[henank]

10. Hamas Speaker denies all knowledge of this

Dweik: Hamas doesn't recognize Israel

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Aziz Dweik on Thursday denied reports by Israeli news outlets that he said on Wednesday Israel has a right to exist.

More

[LeftishBrit]

11. Encouraging - but there appear to be lots of divisions on the issue within Hamas