Hamas aims to improve global image
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Islamic militant group Hamas has drafted a new political program it hopes will improve ties with neighboring Egypt and the West, and present a more moderate image that will help it get off Western terrorism lists.
The internationally isolated group, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for the past decade, characterizes itself in the manifesto as a Palestinian resistance movement against Israeli occupation, dropping references to holy war against Jews. It also raises the possibility of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The document plays down ties to Hamas’ parent movement, the regional Muslim Brotherhood, which is being targeted by Egypt’s government as a terror organization.
However, Hamas appears to have stopped short of a significant ideological shift amid concerns about alienating its hard-line base at a time when ultra-fundamentalist Islamist groups, such as the Salafists, are making inroads, particularly in Gaza.
The new program, to be made public at the end of the month, will not formally replace Hamas’ 1988 founding covenant, which called for the destruction of Israel and for “confronting the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews through jihad.”
Such language has drawn accusations of anti-Semitism.
In referring to a Palestinian state, Hamas does not spell out whether it considers this an acceptable solution to the conflict with Israel or a steppingstone to its longstanding goal of an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine, including what is now Israel.
It makes no mention of recognizing Israel, which its political rival, the Palestine Liberation Organization, did in 1993. At the time, the PLO was led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ predecessor, Yasser Arafat.
The program points were pieced together in interviews with several Hamas officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the platform hasn’t yet been made public.
Salah Bardawil, a Hamas official, confirmed that the document was approved after internal discussions and has been translated into several languages.
Some said the document falls short of helping Hamas emerge from its isolation, arguing it does not mark a genuine departure from the group’s core beliefs.
“The document carries a kind of superficial change, but in fact it upholds most of Hamas’ principles,” said Gaza analyst Akram Atallah.
Hamas has controlled Gaza since seizing the territory of 2 million people in 2007 from forces loyal to Abbas.
The group was formed in 1987, shortly after the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.