The Islamic resistance movement of Hamas says it will accept a peace deal with Israel if the Palestinian nation approves any such accord in a referendum.
Palestinian democratically elected Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday Israel has no intention of giving the Palestinians a fully sovereign state and that peace with Israel was "impossible."
However, he stressed that if the Palestinian nation supports a future peace treaty with Israel, their decision will be honored and followed even if it is in conflict with the movement’s "ideology and principles."
Haniyeh said the resistance movement will accept a peace deal with Israel only if the long-sought demands of the group are met.
"We accept a Palestinian state with full sovereignty on the land occupied in 1967 with al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and a solution to the issue of refugees," Haniyeh told a press conference with foreign journalists in the Gaza Strip.
Haniyeh said he was unconvinced that direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority would yield any result as Tel Aviv was not truly interested in the establishment of peace.
"There won’t be a solution with two states on the land… Israel wants the land, peace, and security with us and this is something impossible."
Hamas has severely criticized the PA for resuming direct negotiations with Israel, calling the move against the will of Palestinians.
The new round of talks between Israel and the PA reached a deadlock shortly after their beginning in September over Tel Aviv’s refusal to meet the Palestinian side’s demand for extending a partial settlement freeze in the West Bank.
Palestinians argue that the expansion of Jewish settlements on their lands will reduce the likelihood of the establishment of a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel captured East al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967 and later annexed it in a move which has not been recognized by the international community.
Settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories are considered illegal under international law.
(Press TV)
