Hamas accepts Palestine with 1967 borders

Hamas says it is ready to cooperate with any US or international effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to accept a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday, Hamas political leader Khalid Meshaal said: “We along with other Palestinian factions in consensus agreed upon accepting a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines,” adding “this is the national program. This is our program. This is a position we stand by and respect.”

Meshaal is quoted as saying that Hamas would accept international peace initiatives.

“Hamas and other Palestinian groups are ready to cooperate with any American, international or regional effort to find a just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, to end the Israeli occupation and to grant the Palestinian people their right of self-determination,” he told the US conservative daily.

The Hamas leader also called a halt to the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories as “a necessary step,” but said it is “not the solution itself.”

In June, Meshaal had said that Hamas would not obstruct any political movement towards establishing a Palestinian state on the basis of 1967 borders.

The Middle East peace process has been stalled as Israel refuses to compromise with Palestinians on key issues, including the final borders, the status of Jerusalem (al-Quds), the fate of Palestinian refugees, the Israeli settlements and Palestinian prisoners.