"Hamas advocates the liberation of all of Palestine but is ready to support the state on 1967 borders without recognizing Israel or ceding any rights," said Mashaal in Doha on Monday, announcing Hamas’ new policy document.
“We don't want to dilute our principles but we want to be open. We hope this (document) will mark a change in the stance of European states towards us," he added, according to Reuters.
“There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity,” according to the document.
"Resisting the occupation with all means and methods is a legitimate right guaranteed by divine laws and by international norms and laws. At the heart of these lies armed resistance, which is regarded as the strategic choice for protecting the principles and the rights of the Palestinian people," read the charter.
"The right of the Palestinian refugees and the displaced to return to their homes from which they were banished or were banned from returning to -- whether in the lands occupied in 1948 or in 1967 (that is the whole of Palestine), is a natural right, both individual and collective... It is an inalienable right and cannot be dispensed with by any party, whether Palestinian, Arab or international,” added the document.
In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, but withdrew from the enclave and laid siege to it in 2005.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds, and Gaza, and are demanding that Israel pull out from the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Tel Aviv regime, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.