Revised Hamas charter defines Zionists, not Jews, as 'enemy'

A leaked document purporting to be the revised Hamas charter features a less belligerent tone and declares that it is the Zionist enterprise -- not the Jewish people -- that the Gaza Strip-based terrorist group sees as its enemy.

Hamas' charter of 1988 completely negates any form of recognition of the State of Israel, it negates the 1993 Oslo Accords and calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1948 borders. Other Palestinian groups, most notably the Palestine Liberation Organization and Fatah, call for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, alongside Israel.

The New York Times reported in March that Hamas officials were drafting a revised charter with aim of presenting "a more pragmatic and cooperative image to the world."

According to the Hezbollah affiliated al-Mayadeen television, the revised doctrine attempts to dial back the blatant anti-Semitism of the 1988 charter and states that "Hamas distinguishes between the Jews, as the people of the book (i.e., Bible), and Judaism as a religion on the one hand, and between the occupation and the Zionist project, on the other hand, and believes that the conflict with the Zionist project is not a conflict with the Jews because of their religion."

The draft, however, does not see Hamas renounce its goal of seizing all of what it refers to as "historic Palestine" through violence.

"Hamas will not give up on any part of the land of Palestine no matter the reasons, circumstances or pressures, and no matter how long the occupation remains. Hamas rejects any alternative to completely liberating Palestine from the river to the sea," the al-Mayadeen report quoted one of the articles as reading.

The document further says that the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, with Jerusalem as its capital -- a departure from the Palestinian Authority's demand for only east Jerusalem as the future state's capital -- is a "formula for a national consensus."

But the draft stops short of explicitly endorsing the move, saying that recognizing an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 lines "does not mean recognizing the Zionist entity called the State of Israel."

Hamas, for its part, denied the report. A senior Hamas official told Arab and Palestinian news agencies that the al-Mayadeen report was "inaccurate and false."

The Lebanese media outlet said Hamas was expected to declare the new charter in the coming days.

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