Hamas denies two-state solution in Annan letter

By Nidal al-Mughrabi
April 5, 2006
The Washington Post
Original Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/AR2006040501453.html

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar on Wednesday denied referring to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, wording that might have hinted Hamas was recognizing Israel's right to exist.
A senior Palestinian diplomat at the United Nations said on Tuesday that Zahar, a senior leader of the Islamic militant group, had made the reference in a letter he sent to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week.
But a Hamas official in Gaza told Reuters the wrong letter had been sent. The official said Zahar made changes to an initial draft of the letter, such as deleting references to the two-state solution. The older version was mistakenly sent.
Earlier, Zahar angrily denied referring to a two-state solution in the letter, dated April 4.
Such a sentence was not used in the letter, Zahar told Reuters in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which swept parliamentary elections in January and is sworn to destroy Israel, has vowed to keep fighting the Jewish state since taking over the Palestinian government last week. It says talks with Israel would be a waste of time.
Israel calls Hamas a terrorist organization and has vowed not to negotiate with the group.
ANNAN RECEIVED ONE LETTER
At U.N. headquarters on Tuesday, Riyad Mansour, Palestinian observer to the United Nations, showed reporters an unofficial translation that Hamas said was the wrong letter. He said the choice of wording indicated an evolution in Hamas's thinking.
A version circulated in Gaza was the updated one, although it was unclear which one was delivered to Annan.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Annan had received only one letter and had not been informed of any retraction.
We've seen those press reports this morning. For now the letter that we have is the one we've received yesterday and that is all we have and we are studying that letter. But we have not received any other communication from them, Dujarric said.
Despite not referring to a two-state solution in the updated letter, it was conciliatory for a Hamas leader who has a reputation as a hard-liner.
Zahar said his government wanted to work with the United Nations and countries of the world ... to achieve regional peace and stability based on a comprehensive and just solution.
We hope some countries will reconsider their positions and hasty decisions especially regarding stopping aid and the use of the language of threats instead of dialogue, the letter added.
Israel and the United States have sought to isolate the Hamas government.
The Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia -- has also said aid may be cut if Hamas does not recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace agreements.
Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas lawmaker, said recognizing Israel was not up for debate, although he restated the group's offer of a long-term truce if Israel was to fully withdraw from land captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel has dismissed such an offer as a non-starter.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)