Hamas will never recognize Israel legitimate

A senior Hamas official rejects a report published by the The Economist and says that the movement will never recognize Israel as legitimate.

Ahmad Yousef said on Sunday that the British magazine misunderstood him when it quoted him in its July 30 edition as saying, “Hamas is very close on recognition of Israel,” and, “We show all sorts of ideological flexibility on this.” He labeled the report as ‘totally untrue’.

Yousef, who is the Deputy Foreign Minister in the Hamas government in Gaza, said that ‘no law’ can force the Palestinians to recognize Israel. He said that no Palestinian can admit the existence of the so-called state of Israel that is occupying Palestinian land. “They are the ones that should recognize Palestinian rights,” he told the Maan news agency in an interview.

He also added that the issue in question by Hamas “is not Israel’s right to exist. We know Israel is there. It’s not a matter of recognition.”

“Rather, Hamas’ opposition is to accepting Israel as being legitimate,” he stressed.