Segacs's World I Know

Hamas acknowledges Israel exists:

Hamas acknowledges the existence of Israel but formal recognition by the group will only be considered when a Palestinian state has been created, the movement’s leader Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday.

Softening a previous refusal to accept the Jewish state’s existence, Meshaal said Israel was a “reality.”

“There will remain a state called Israel, this is a matter of fact,” Meshaal said in an interview in the Syrian capital, where he lives in exile.

“The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel,” said Meshaal. “The problem is that the Palestinian state is non-existent.”

Before anyone gets too excited, let’s keep in mind that Hamas has refused to change its charter calling for Israel’s destruction, has refused to formally recognize Israel despite Western pressure, and continues to call for the so-called “right of return” of Palestinian refugees that would, in effect, destroy Israel through demographics. Not to mention that it continues to launch rockets and suicide attacks into Israel at every opportunity.

Still, this soundbyte is a baby step, even despite the convoluted logic that only a terrorist could come up with:

“As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land,” said Meshaal.

“This is a reality but I won’t deal with it in terms of recognizing or admitting it,” he added.

Um, yeah.

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