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.Naturally, this news has caused a stir in Gaza. Luckily, another hamas leader, Dr. Salah al Bardawil, has clarified Dwaik's position.
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.
You see, Hamas' charter never called for the destruction of Israel! So there is no need for it to be nullified.
Hamas' charter does quote the Muslim Brotherhood's founder as saying "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" . But that's just the prologue. And it says obliterate," not "destroy." Big difference!
Also, it says:
The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Muslim generations until Judgement Day. This being so, who could claim to have the right to represent Muslim generations till Judgement Day?Now, if Hamas-bashers want to interpret that as if it means that Hamas wants to destroy Israel, that's their problem.
This is the law governing the land of Palestine in the Islamic Sharia (law) and the same goes for any land the Muslims have conquered by force, because during the times of (Islamic) conquests, the Muslims consecrated these lands to Muslim generations till the Day of Judgement.
And this part is equally irrelevant:
The day that enemies usurp part of Muslim land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Muslim. In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. To do this requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses, both on the regional, Arab and Islamic levels. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.Nowhere does that paragraph say "destroy Israel"! Amazing!
Double-talk is a wonderful Palestinian Arab tool, because they know that there will always be stupid Westerners who cannot believe that they are being lied to.