Haniyeh: Hamas will have contacts with Egypt and Arab and international countries to explain its document

Hamas deputy leader Ismail Haniyeh said his movement would hold contacts with the international community and Arab countries to explain the document it launched on Monday evening in which it declared the acceptance of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

“Hamas will certainly have contacts and meetings,” he said. “We will be open to any clarifications, inquiries and discussions on the document, which will strengthen the policy and strategy of openness to all.”

Haniyeh said the document “came to reflect the great development of Hamas, and that Hamas is committed to strategies and constants,” adding that the document “did not come at the request of any party.”

Yahya al-Senwar, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, said in response to an AFP question about the situation after the document, saying it would be “excellent” without giving further details.

For the first time, Hamas introduced an amendment to its political program, agreed to establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and stressed the political rather than religious nature of the conflict with Israel.

“The document is our reference to the daily political performance,” Khaled Mashaal, head of the movement’s political bureau, said in a response to journalists’ questions during a press conference held in Doha.

He pointed out that the charter of the movement calling for the destruction of Israel “was issued in 1988, and in 2017 we issue the document, and each of them expresses a stage, we are not going to say that this cancel the other.”

He stressed that Hamas “will not be a substitute (for Fatah) or any one, and we will fight for the partnership of every Palestinian.”

Hamas distributed a text in Arabic and English of the 42-item document.