Hamas has softened its stance on Israel after long calling for its destruction, but the Palestinian movement must do more to convince the world to end its isolation, analysts and diplomats said on Tuesday.
The Islamist movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, unveiled a new policy document on Monday night ahead of a first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party remains at loggerheads with Hamas.
Some analysts see the move as an attempt by Hamas to ease tension with regional allies and assuage hostilities with global powers.
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National consensus
While still attacking Israel, the document accepts for the first time pre-1967 armistice lines as a matter of “national consensus” — in what many interpreted as implicitly accepting the existence of Israel.
Hamas officials, however, said that it did not amount to a recognition of Israel as demanded by the international community.
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