WHILE Israel’s rejection of it makes sense from the point of view of the long-term Zionist project, the policy document unveiled by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) also evoked criticism from the Palestinian Authority, which reminded the Hamas leadership that wisdom had dawned on it 43 years late. Released to the media on Monday by Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, due to retire soon, the document shows a degree of realism and adjusts if not repudiates some fundamentals of its policy contained in its 1988 founding charter. Back then, its aims were radical and reflected the deep frustration in a large section of the Palestinian people over the continued occupation of their land and the hastened pace of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Identifying itself with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Hamas’s objectives had included the liberation of the territory between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean and the creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, all this being part of a confrontation between Muslims and Jews worldwide. Its military muscle and charity networks also added to its appeal to the Palestinian people and enabled the militant movement to capture power in Gaza through the electoral process in 2006.

However, Monday’s documents outlining Hamas’s “principles and general policies” mark a major departure from the 1988 charter and call for establishing a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 war borders. More significantly, the document makes no mention of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is now anathema to Egypt and some Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia. Released two days before President Donald Trump was to meet President Mahmoud Abbas, the documents attempt to create a soft image for Hamas and seek its entry into the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. While a PLO spokesman ridiculed the Hamas policy shift, saying it did what the PLO had done decades ago, all sides should realise Palestinian unity is now needed more than ever before. The PA and Hamas should bury the hatchet and fight together for a sovereign Palestinian state.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2017