Khalid Mishal on Hamas’ Growing Recognition

Paul McGeough has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times addressing the recent uptick in foreign delegation visits to Hamas’ Khalid Mishal. In an interview, Mishal stressed that despite this more active international recognition, “Hamas is not a card in anyone’s hand.” And despite certain changes to policy, i.e. accepting a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders and participating in Palestinian elections, as far as rewriting Hamas’ charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, Mishal says “not a chance.”

McGeough argues “[o]ver the long term, Hamas accepts the concept of two states in the Levant, which arguably puts Mr. Mishal’s terrorist movement closer to Washington than Netanyahu is – he now proposes only ‘economic peace’ between Jews and Palestinians.” However, without revisting the issue of Hamas’ charter, its difficult to fathom Washington will see it this way.

The Source