Hamas acknowledges the existence of Israel but formal recognition by the group will only be considered when a Palestinian state has been created, the movement's leader Khalid Meshaal said yesterday. Softening a previous refusal to accept the Jewish state's existence, Mesha'al said Israel was a "reality"."There will remain a state called Israel, this is a matter of fact," Meshaal said in an interview in the Syrian capital, where he lives in exile. "The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel," said Mesha'al. "The problem is that the Palestinian state is non-existent."
Meshaal said Hamas would defy Western conditions and refuse to consider formal recognition of the Jewish state until a Palestinian state was established. Changing the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, was also a matter for the future, he said. "The distant future will have its own circumstances and positions could be determined then," he said.