A senior Hamas leader says that if his militant group came to power in a future Palestinian state, it would not abide by any previous Palestinian peace deals with Israel.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, Hamas’ number two figure, says any potential deal, even if ratified in a Palestinian referendum, would be considered only as a temporary truce agreement.
Mr. Abu Marzouk’s remarks underline Hamas’ stance that it considers the Palestinians to be at war with Israel.
The comments were published Thursday in the Jewish Daily Forward, a Jewish-American newspaper. It was the first such interview by a senior Hamas leader to a Jewish publication. Israeli papers carried the interview Friday.
Abu Marzouk spoke from Cairo. The Hamas leadership has left its long-time base in Syria because of the regime’s crackdown there.
