Editing Hamas (section)

=== Evolution of positions ===

==== 1988–1992 (first charter) ====
In its [[#History|early days]], Hamas functioned as a [[Religion|social-religious]] [[Charitable organization|charity center]]. Its members armed themselves for [[Palestinian nationalism#PLO until the First Intifada (1964–1988)|the ongoing resistance against the]] [[Six-Day War|Israeli occupation]] of the [[Palestinian territories]], and in August 1988 published their [[1988 Hamas charter|first charter]] in which Hamas stated that "Israel" should be "eliminated" through a "clash with the enemies", a "struggle against Zionism" and "conflict with Israel".<ref name="Charter">{{cite web |url=https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/880818.htm |title=The Charter of the HAMAS (1988) (full text, translated at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem) |website=Intelligence Resource Project |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=15 November 2023 |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115072059/https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/880818.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|loc=preamble, art. 14, 15, 32}} They wrote that 'Palestine', that is [[Mandatory Palestine|all of the territory that belonged to the British Mandate for Palestine]] (that is, from the [[Jordan River]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]]),{{sfn|O'Malley|2015|p=118}} should be "liberated" from "[[Zionism]]"<ref name="Charter"/>{{rp|loc=art. 14}} and transformed into an [[Islam]]ic {{transliteration|ar|[[Waqf]]}} (Islamic charitable [[Financial endowment|endowment]]) in which "followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety".<ref name="Yale"/>{{rp|loc=art. 6, 11}}{{sfn|Dalacoura|2012|p=67}} Practically speaking, Hamas is and was at war with Israel's army (later also attacking Israeli civilians) [[#First Intifada|since the spring of 1989]], initially as part of the [[First Intifada]], a general protest movement that gradually turned more [[riot]]ous and violent.

==== 1992–2005 ====
In 1999, the Hamas leadership, in a memorandum to European diplomats, proposed a long-term ceasefire with Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal of military troops and civilian illegal settlements from [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip]], release of all [[Palestinians in Israeli custody|Palestinian prisoners]], and the right of Palestinian self-determination (see also section [[#Truce proposals|Truce proposals]]).<ref name=tuastad2/> [[Sheikh]] [[Ahmed Yassin]], founder of Hamas, who  was [[Killing of Ahmed Yassin|assassinated by Israel]] in 2004, at unreported date has offered Israel a ten-year ''[[hudna]]'' (truce, armistice) in return for establishment of a Palestinian state in the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]]. Yassin later added, the ''hudna'' could be renewed, even for longer periods, but would never signal a recognition of Israel.<ref name=atran>{{cite journal|author=Scott Atran, Robert Axelrod|title=Reframing Sacred Values|url=https://websites.umich.edu/~axe/negj0708.pdf|journal=Negotiation Journal|date=2008|volume=24|issue=3|pages=221–246 |doi=10.1111/j.1571-9979.2008.00182.x|access-date=20 March 2024|archive-date=21 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121114409/https://websites.umich.edu/~axe/negj0708.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|pages=221–246}}

In 2005, Hamas signed the [[Palestinian Cairo Declaration]], which confirms "the right of the Palestinian people to resistance in order to end the occupation, establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital" (etc.), aiming to reconcile several Palestinian factions but not describing specific steps or strategies towards Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine Media Center: Text of the Palestinian 'Cairo Declaration'|url=http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=2&id=849 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704163620/http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=2&id=849 |archive-date=4 July 2007 |access-date=14 February 2025 |website=palestine-pmc.com}}</ref>

==== 2006–2007: 1967 borders and a truce ====
In March 2006, after winning an absolute majority in the [[2006 Palestinian legislative election]]s, Hamas published its government program in which Hamas claimed sovereignty for the [[Palestinian territories]] but did not repeat its claim to all of [[mandatory Palestine]], instead declared their willingness to have contacts with Israel "in all mundane affairs: business, trade, health, and labor".<ref name=KhaledHroub2006>{{Cite journal |last=Hroub |first=Khaled |title=A "New Hamas" through Its New Documents |url=http://palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=7087&jid=1&href=fulltext |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |date=2006 |volume=35 |issue=1 (Summer 2006) |pages=6–27 |doi=10.1525/jps.2006.35.4.6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918090220/http://palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=7087&jid=1&href=fulltext |archive-date=18 September 2008 |ref=none}}</ref> The program further stated: "The question of recognizing Israel is not the jurisdiction of one faction, nor the government, but a decision for the Palestinian people."<ref name=nixed/>
Since then until today, spokesmen of Hamas seem to disagree about their attitudes towards Israel, and debates are running as to whether the original 1988 Hamas charter has since March 2006 become obsolete and irrelevant or on the contrary still spells out Hamas's genuine and ultimate goals (see: [[1988 Hamas charter#Relevance of the charter to Hamas' policy|1988 Hamas charter, § Relevance]]).

The March 2006 Hamas legislative program was further explained on 6 June 2006 by Hamas' MP Riad Mustafa: "Hamas will never recognize Israel", but if a popular Palestinian referendum would endorse a peace agreement including recognition of Israel, "we would of course accept their verdict".<ref name=nixed>{{cite web|url=https://fair.org/extra/nixed-signals/|title=Nixed Signals|author=Seth Ackerman|date=September–October 2006|work=Extra!|publisher=[[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting]]|access-date=18 March 2012|archive-date=24 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124004638/https://fair.org/extra/nixed-signals/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also on 6 June 2006, [[Ismail Haniyeh]], senior political leader of Hamas and at that time Prime Minister of the [[Palestinian government#PNA governments|Palestinian National Authority]], sent a letter to US President [[George W. Bush]] (via [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]'s [[Jerome Segal]]), stating: "We are so concerned about stability and security in the area that we don't mind having a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders and offering a truce for many years", and asking Bush for a dialogue with the Hamas government. A similar message he sent to Israel's leaders.<ref name="Hatz 14Aug2008"/><ref name="Kamel" /> Haniyeh had reportedly proposed a fifty-year armistice.<ref>{{cite book|title=Contested Lands: Israel-Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus, and Sri Lanka|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|author=Sumantra Bose|page=283}}</ref> Neither Washington nor Israel replied.<ref name="Hatz 14Aug2008">{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/in-2006-letter-to-bush-haniyeh-offered-compromise-with-israel-1.257213|title=In 2006 letter to Bush, Haniyeh offered compromise with Israel|author=Barak Ravid|date=14 November 2008|access-date=18 March 2012|work=Haaretz|archive-date=25 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125215124/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/in-2006-letter-to-bush-haniyeh-offered-compromise-with-israel-1.257213|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kamel" >Dr. Lorenzo Kamel, [http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.608906 "Why do Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010124417/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.608906 |date=10 October 2017 }}, ''Haaretz'', 5 August 2014</ref> Nuancing [[sheikh]] [[Ahmed Yassin]]'s statements before 2004 about a ''[[hudna]]'' (truce) with Israel (see above), Hamas's (former) senior adviser [[Ahmed Yousef]] has said (at unknown date) that a "[[hudna]]" (truce, armistice) is more than a ceasefire and "obliges parties to use the period to seek a permanent, non-violent resolution to their differences."{{sfn|Dunning|2016|p=179}}

On 28 June 2006, Hamas signed the [[Palestinian Prisoners' Document#Second version: "National Conciliation Document"|second version of (originally) 'the Palestinians' Prisoners Document']] which supports the quest for a Palestinian state "on all territories occupied in 1967".<ref name=prisoners/><ref name=bbc_abbas_risks_all>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5052288.stm ''Abbas risks all with vote strategy''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027111839/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5052288.stm |date=27 October 2023 }}. Roger Hardy, BBC, 8 June  2006</ref><ref name="seurat47"/> This document also recognized the PLO as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people", and states that "the negotiations" should be conducted by PLO and [[President of the Palestinian National Authority]] and eventual agreements must be ratified by either the [[Palestinian National Council]] or a general referendum "held in the homeland and the Diaspora". Leila Seurat also notes that this document "implicitly recognized the June 1967 borders, agreed on the construction of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital and accepted limitations to the resistance in the territories occupied in 1967", and was produced following consultations with the entire Political Bureau.{{sfn|Seurat|2019|p=199}}

In an August 2006 interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Ismail Haniyeh]], senior political leader of Hamas and then Prime Minister of the [[Palestinian government#PNA governments|Palestinian National Authority]], said: "We have no problem with a sovereign Palestinian state over all our lands within the 1967 borders, living in calm."<ref>{{cite news|title=Is Hamas Ready to Deal?|author=SCOTT ATRAN|work=[[New York Times]]|date=17 August 2006}}</ref> In November 2006, Hamas again proposed a truce for many years to Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders.{{sfn|Brenner|2022|p=36}}

In February 2007, Hamas signed the [[Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement]], stressing "the importance of national unity as basis for (...) confronting the occupation" and "activate and reform the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]]", but without further details about how to confront or deal with Israel.{{sfn|Seurat|2019|p=49}} At the time of signing that 2007 agreement, [[Mousa Abu Marzook]], Deputy Chairman of the [[#Political Bureau|Hamas Political Bureau]], underlined ''his'' view of the Hamas position: "I can recognize the presence of Israel as a fait accompli (amr wâqi') or, as the French say, a de facto recognition, but this does not mean that I recognize Israel as a state".{{sfn|Seurat|2019|p=50}} More Hamas leaders, through the years, have made similar statements.<ref name="Jazeera,2May2017"/>{{sfn|Baconi|2018|p=230}}

In June 2007, Hamas [[Gaza Strip#2007: Hamas takeover|ousted the Fatah movement from the Gaza Strip, took control there]], and since then Hamas occasionally fired rockets from the Gaza Strip on Israel, purportedly to retaliate Israeli aggression against the people of Gaza.<ref name=jazeera,22Apr2008/>

==== 2008–2016 ====
In April 2008, former US President [[Jimmy Carter]] met with [[Khaled Mashal]], the recognized Hamas leader since 2004. Mashal said to Carter, Hamas would "accept a Palestinian state on the [[Six-Day War|1967 borders]]" and accept the right of Israel "to live as a neighbour" if such a deal would be approved by a referendum among the "Palestinians". Nevertheless, Mashal did not offer a unilateral ceasefire (as Carter had suggested him to do). The US State Department showed utter indifference for Mashal's new stance; Israel's Prime Minister [[Ehud Olmert]] even refused to meet with Carter in [[Jerusalem]], not to mention paying attention to the new Hamas stance.<ref name=jazeera,22Apr2008>[[Al Jazeera English]], [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2008/04/2008615098393788.html "Hamas ready to accept 1967 borders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922035242/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2008/04/2008615098393788.html |date=22 September 2020 }}. 22 April 2008.</ref>

On 19 June 2008, Hamas and Israel agreed to a six-month cease-fire,<ref name="Ref_2008">{{Citation|title=Hamas declares Israel truce over|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7791100.stm|work=BBC News|date=22 December 2008|access-date=3 January 2010|archive-date=18 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118015406/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7791100.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> which Hamas declared finished at 18 December<ref name="bjt-tip-point-cross-border-figthing">{{Citation|url=http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/cover_story/tipping_point/9631 |title=Tipping Point After years of rocket attacks, Israel finally says, 'Enough!' |last=Jacobs |first=Phil |date=30 December 2008 |work=Baltimore Jewish Times|access-date=7 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115020744/http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/cover_story/tipping_point/9631 |archive-date=15 January 2009 }}</ref> amidst mutual accusations of breaching the agreed conditions.<ref name="Ref_2008"/>

Meanwhile, in November 2008, in a meeting with 11 [[Europe]]an members of parliaments, Hamas senior official [[Ismail Haniyeh]] repeated what he had written in June 2006 to U.S. President George W. Bush but with one extra condition: "the Hamas government had agreed to accept a Palestinian state that followed [[Six-Day War|the 1967 borders]] and to offer Israel a long-term ''[[hudna]]'' (truce), if Israel recognized the [[Palestinian right of return|Palestinians' national rights]]" – a proposal which he said Israel had declined.<ref name="offer 2008">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/haniyeh-hamas-willing-to-accept-palestinian-state-with-1967-borders-1.256915 |title=Hamas willing to accept Palestinian state with 1967 borders |author=Amira Hass |date=9 November 2008 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010124644/https://www.haaretz.com/news/haniyeh-hamas-willing-to-accept-palestinian-state-with-1967-borders-1.256915 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2009, [[Ismail Haniyeh]], [[Governance of the Gaza Strip|head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip]], wrote to UN Secretary General [[Ban Ki-moon]] that Hamas would support any steps leading to a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders: "We would never thwart efforts to create an independent Palestinian state with borders [from] June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital."<ref name="offer 2009">{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/haniyeh-to-un-chief-hamas-accepts-palestinian-state-in-67-borders-1.7460|title=Haniyeh to UN chief: Hamas accepts Palestinian state in '67 borders|author=Yoav Segev|date=22 September 2009|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=25 February 2012|archive-date=8 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008015926/http://www.haaretz.com/news/haniyeh-to-un-chief-hamas-accepts-palestinian-state-in-67-borders-1.7460|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2010, [[Khaled Mashal]], chairman of the [[#Political Bureau|Hamas Political Bureau]] (thus Hamas' highest leader), again stated that a state "Israel" living next
to "a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967" would be acceptable for Hamas – but only if a referendum among "the Palestinian people" would endorse this arrangement. In November 2010, [[Ismail Haniyeh]],{{efn|Haniyeh at the time was the (overall) [[Prime Minister of the State of Palestine]] but as such was dismissed<ref name=bbc_dissolve>{{cite news|title=Abbas sacks Hamas-led government|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6754499.stm|date=14 June 2007|access-date=14 June 2007|work=[[BBC News]]|archive-date=27 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827140345/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6754499.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> by President [[Mahmoud Abbas|Abbas]] in 2007; nevertheless he remained [[Governance of the Gaza Strip|head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip]].}} also proposed a Palestinian state on 1967 borders, though added three further conditions: "resolution of [[Palestinian refugees#Palestinian views|the issue of refugees]]", "the release of Palestinian prisoners", and "Jerusalem as its capital"; and he made the same reservation as Mashal in May 2010 had made, that a Palestinian referendum needed to endorse this arrangement.<ref name="Beinart" >[[Peter Beinart]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=v0U1fjErMGkC&pg=PT231 ''The Crisis of Zionism,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320153321/https://books.google.com/books?id=v0U1fjErMGkC&pg=PT231#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=20 March 2024 }} Melbourne University Press 2012, p. 219. Statement of Mashal in May 2010: 'If Israel withdraws to the borders of 1967, it doesn't mean that it gives us back all the land of the Palestinians. But we do consider this as an acceptable solution to have a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967... the Palestinian state will have a referendum and the Palestinian people will decide. We in Hamas will respect the decision of the Palestinian majority.' Haniyeh in November 2010: 'We accept a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the resolution of [[Palestinian refugees#Palestinian views|the issue of refugees]].... Hamas will respect the results (of a referendum) regardless of whether it differs with its ideology and principles.' (Beinart refers to the original sources of those statements, respectively ''[[Current Affairs (magazine)|Current Affairs]]'' 28 May 2010 and ''[[Haaretz]]'' 1 December 2010.)</ref><ref name="UWR">David Whitten, Smith, Elizabeth Geraldine Burr, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5v-iBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA250 ''Understanding World Religions: A Road Map for Justice and Peace''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320153330/https://books.google.com/books?id=5v-iBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA250#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=20 March 2024 }}, Rowman & Littlefield, 2014 p. 250</ref>

On 1 December 2010, [[Ismail Haniyeh]] (senior Hamas leader, see above), in a news conference in [[Gaza City|Gaza]], repeated his November 2010 message: "We accept a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the resolution of the issue of refugees," but only if such arrangement would be endorsed by "a referendum" held among all Palestinians: in Gaza, West Bank, and the diaspora.<ref name="offer 2010">{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-vows-to-honor-palestinian-referendum-on-peace-with-israel-1.328234|title=Hamas Vows to Honor Palestinian Referendum on Peace with Israel: Islamist Leader Ismail Haniyeh Says He Would Accept a Deal with Israel Based on 1967 Borders and Denies that Gaza has Become a Stronghold for Al-Qaida|date=1 December 2010|newspaper=Haaretz|agency=Reuters|access-date=25 February 2012|archive-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015233322/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-vows-to-honor-palestinian-referendum-on-peace-with-israel-1.328234|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2011, Hamas and [[Fatah]] signed an agreement in [[Cairo]], agreeing to form a ('national unity') government and appoint the Ministers "in consensus between them", but it contained no remarks about how to confront or deal with Israel.<ref>[http://peacemaker.un.org/node/463 Text of the Hamas-Fatah Agreement, made in Cairo on 3 May 2011.]. Website peacemaker.un.org. Retrieved 21 February 2024.</ref>  In February 2012, Hamas and [[Fatah]] signed the [[Fatah–Hamas Doha Agreement]], agreeing (again) to form an interim national consensus government, which (again) did not materialize.

Still in February 2012, according to the [[Palestinian National Authority#Two PNA administrations|Palestinian authority]] (either the [[Fatah]] branch in West Bank or the Hamas branch in Gaza), Hamas forswore the use of violence against Israel ("ceasefire", an Israeli news website called it), followed by a few weeks without violence between Hamas and Israel.<ref name="IBZ 14Mar2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/37526/ |title=The eye of the Islamic Jihad storm |first=Ilan |last=Ben Zion |date=14 March 2012 |work=The Times of Israel |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=10 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010155019/https://www.timesofisrael.com/37526/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Tab">{{cite news |first=Marc |last=Tracy |author-link=Marc Tracy |date=12 March 2012 |title=Terrorist Killing Prompts Gaza Rocket Exchange |work=Tablet Magazine |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/93795/terrorist-killing-prompts-gaza-rocket-exchange/ |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-date=2 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402114940/http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/93795/terrorist-killing-prompts-gaza-rocket-exchange/ |url-status=live }}</ref> But violence between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, also involving Hamas, [[Gaza–Israel conflict#Operation "Returning Echo"|would soon resume]].

==== 2017–6 Oct 2023 (new charter) ====
{{See also|2017 Hamas charter}}
On 1 May 2017, after much internal discussion, Hamas and its [[#Political Bureau|Hamas Political Bureau]] chief [[Khaled Mashal]] published "A Document of General Principles and Policies", also known as the [[2017 Hamas charter]].{{sfn|Brenner|2017|pp=205-207}} In the new charter Hamas accepts a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, without recognizing Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Qiblawi |first1=Tamara |first2=Angela |last2=Dewan |first3=Larry |last3=Register |date=1 May 2017 |title=Hamas presents new policy document |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/01/middleeast/hamas-charter-palestinian-israeli/ |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schulz |first=Michael |title=Between Resistance, Sharia Law, and Demo-Islamic Politics |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5381-4610-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4WQGEAAAQBAJ |page=70}}</ref> When asked, Hamas leaders explained that "The original charter has now become a historical document and part of an earlier stage in our evolution. It will remain in the movement's bookshelf as a record of our past."{{sfn|Brenner|2017|pp=205-207}} Khaled Mashal stated that the new document reflected "our position for now."<ref name=aljazeera-2017-05-02>{{Cite web |last=Younes |first=Ali |title=Meshaal: Hamas is not a rigid ideological organisation |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/5/2/meshaal-we-want-to-restore-our-national-rights |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> However, Hamas fell short of formally repudiating the original 1988 charter.<ref name=no-softened />{{sfn|Seurat|2022|p=62}} According to some analysts Hamas did not formally revoke the old charter so as to not alienate some of its base members, who it feared might join rival Islamist factions.{{sfn|Seurat|2022|p=62}}

Around 2018, a Hamas finance minister has suggested that a "long-term ceasefire as understood by Hamas [''[[hudna]]''] and a two-state settlement are the same".<ref name="Baconi-108" /> In 2021 Hamas organized and financed a conference among 250 Gaza citizens about the future management of the State of Palestine following the takeover of Israel which was predicted to come soon. According to the conclusions of the conference, the Jewish Israeli fighters would be killed, while the peaceful individuals could be integrated or be allowed to leave. At the same time the highly skilled and educated would be prevented from leaving.<ref>{{cite news |title=Suffering, dreaming and forgetting in Gaza |url=https://www.nzz.ch/english/in-gaza-hamas-rules-as-egypt-and-israel-maintain-their-blockades-ld.1653551 |access-date=8 April 2024 |publisher=[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]] |date=4 November 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408100154/https://www.nzz.ch/english/in-gaza-hamas-rules-as-egypt-and-israel-maintain-their-blockades-ld.1653551 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hamas Actually Believed It Would Conquer Israel. In Preparation, It Divided the Country Into Cantons |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-05/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/hamas-actually-believed-it-would-conquer-israel-and-divided-it-into-cantons/0000018e-ab4a-dc42-a3de-abfad6fe0000 |access-date=8 April 2024 |publisher=Haaretz |date=5 April 2024 |archive-date=7 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407224539/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-05/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/hamas-actually-believed-it-would-conquer-israel-and-divided-it-into-cantons/0000018e-ab4a-dc42-a3de-abfad6fe0000 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2020 [[Ismail Haniyeh]] said in an interview that one of the principles of Hamas was "Palestine [[from the river to the sea|from the sea to the river]]."<ref>{{cite news |title=حوار مع إسماعيل هنية ، رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة حماس |url=https://lusailnews.net/media/video/27/07/2020/%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%87%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3 |access-date=13 October 2024 |publisher=Lusail news |date=27 July 2020 |language=ar |quote=11:40}}</ref> In 2022, Yahya Sinwar cautioned Israelis that Hamas would one day "march through your walls to uproot your regime."<ref name="WP Deeper">{{cite news |title=Hamas envisioned deeper attacks, aiming to provoke an Israeli war |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/12/hamas-planning-terror-gaza-israel/ |access-date=4 December 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=13 November 2023 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113024604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/12/hamas-planning-terror-gaza-israel/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 7 Oct 2023–present ====
[[File:October 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict (7– 8 October).svg|thumb|right|Approximate presence of Hamas militiants (blue) on 7–9 October 2023]]
In a [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel|flash attack on 7 October 2023]], Hamas and associates murdered 767 civilians and killed a further 376 security personnel of the state of [[Israel]]. [[Gaza war|Israel retaliated with warfare in the Gaza Strip]], aiming at Hamas militants but also harming much civilian infrastructure and directly killing tens of thousands of civilians, as admitted even by Israel (not counting the presumed multiple number of indirect deaths). A number of conflicting statements since then were made by Hamas senior leaders regarding the Hamas policy towards Israel.

On 24 October, [[Ghazi Hamad]]—member of the [[#Political Bureau|decision-making Hamas Political Bureau]]<ref name="Libération">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Clémence |title="Israël n'a pas sa place sur notre terre" : qui est Ghazi Hamad, la "voix du Hamas" depuis le massacre du 7 octobre ? |trans-title='Israel has no place on our land': who is Ghazi Hamad, the 'voice of Hamas' since the October 7 massacre? |url=https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/israel-na-pas-sa-place-sur-notre-terre-qui-est-ghazi-hamad-la-voix-du-hamas-depuis-le-massacre-du-7-octobre-20231103_Z6ZD7UK24JBYVAHSCDKYYS5K7Y/ |access-date=6 November 2023 |website=Libération |language=fr}}</ref>—explained the 7 October attack: "Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country because it constitutes a security, military and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation". "We are called a nation of [[Shahid|martyr]]s and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs". Hamad called the creation of the Jewish state "illogical": "(...) We are the victims of the occupation. Therefore, nobody should blame us for the things we do".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pacchiani |first=Gianluca |date=1 November 2023 |title=Hamas official says group will repeat Oct. 7 attack 'twice and three times' to destroy Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-official-says-group-will-repeat-oct-7-attack-twice-and-three-times-to-destroy-israel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307141412/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-official-says-group-will-repeat-oct-7-attack-twice-and-three-times-to-destroy-israel/ |archive-date=7 March 2024 |access-date=17 February 2024 |website=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Leifer |first=Joshua |date=21 March 2024 |title=What is the real Hamas? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/what-is-the-real-hamas |access-date=27 April 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |quote=He [Hamad] said that "Al-Aqsa Flood", Hamas's name for its armed offensive, "is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth". Once considered a thoughtful observer of Palestinian politics, Hamad now declared that "nobody should blame us for what we do – on 7 October, on 10 October, on October 1,000,000. Everything we do is justified." }}</ref>

On 1 November 2023, [[Ismail Haniyeh]], then incumbent highest Hamas leader (but [[Ismail Haniyeh#assassination|assassinated by Israel 31 July 2024]]), stated that if Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the [[Gaza war]], if humanitarian corridors would be opened, and aid would be allowed into Gaza,
Hamas would be "ready for political negotiations for a two-state solution with [[Jerusalem]] as the capital of Palestine". Haniyeh also praised the support of movements in [[Yemen]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]] for the Palestinian struggle.<ref name=Haniyeh2023>{{cite news |title=Haniyeh says Hamas ready for negotiations on a two-state solution if Israel stops war on Gaza |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/58/1262/511435/War-on-Gaza/War-on-Gaza/Haniyeh-says-Hamas-ready-for-negotiations-on-a-two.aspx |work=Al-Ahram |date=1 November 2023 |access-date=20 March 2024 |archive-date=20 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320153323/https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/58/1262/511435/War-on-Gaza/War-on-Gaza/Haniyeh-says-Hamas-ready-for-negotiations-on-a-two.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:An aerial view showing destruction in Rafah after Israeli forces withdrawal and as the ceasefire took hold, Gaza Strip.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Rafah]] in January 2025 after Israel's [[Rafah offensive]] against Hamas]]
In January 2024 [[Khaled Mashal]], a former Hamas leader, slighted "The West" and "the two-state solution", saying "The 1967 borders represent 21% of Palestine, which is practically one fifth of its land, so this cannot be accepted", and adding that "our right in Palestine from the sea to the river" cannot be waived.<ref name=mashal2>{{cite news |title=Meshaal: Hamas rejects 'two-state solution' |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240118-meshaal-hamas-rejects-two-state-solution/ |access-date=20 January 2024 |publisher=Middle East Monitor |date=18 January 2024 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119101010/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240118-meshaal-hamas-rejects-two-state-solution/amp/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  However, he reiterated that Hamas "accepts a state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, with complete independence and with the right of return without recognising the legitimacy of the Zionist entity."<ref name=mashal2 />

Hamas Member of Parliament [[Khalil al-Hayya]], also deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, told the Associated Press in April 2024 that Hamas is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.<ref name="Sewell 2024 s696"/> The [[Associated Press]] considered this a "significant concession", but presumed that [[Israel]] would not even want to consider this scenario following the October 2023 attack.<ref name="Sewell 2024 s696">{{cite web | last=Sewell | first=Abby | title=Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established | website=AP News | date=25 April 2024 | url=https://apnews.com/article/hamas-khalil-alhayya-qatar-ceasefire-1967-borders-4912532b11a9cec29464eab234045438 | access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref>

==== Reactions ====

The vision that Hamas articulated in its [[1988 Hamas charter|original 1988 charter]] resembles the vision of certain Zionist groups regarding the same territory, as noted by several authors.<ref name="UWR"/><ref>Louise Fawcett, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nNUiHaUzzNgC&pg=PA249 ''International Relations of the Middle East''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320154519/https://books.google.com/books?id=nNUiHaUzzNgC&pg=PA249#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=20 March 2024 }}, [[Oxford University Press]] 2013 p. 49: 'The Hamas platform calls for full Muslim-Palestinian control of the Mediterranean to the Jordan River—the mirror image of Likud's platform for Jewish control of the same land.'</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Dunning |first=Tristan |title=Israel's policy on statehood merits the same scrutiny as Hamas gets |date=20 November 2014 |url=http://theconversation.com/israels-policy-on-statehood-merits-the-same-scrutiny-as-hamas-gets-33897 |access-date=20 March 2024 |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015101228/https://theconversation.com/israels-policy-on-statehood-merits-the-same-scrutiny-as-hamas-gets-33897 |url-status=live }}</ref> This may suggest that Hamas's views were inspired by those Zionist perspectives.<ref>Glenn Frankel, [[iarchive:beyondpromisedla00fran/page/390|''Beyond the Promised Land: Jews and Arabs on the Hard Road to a New Israel,'']] [[Simon and Schuster]], 1996 pp. 389–91, cites Binjamin Netanyahu as declaring: 'You say the Bible is not a property deed. But I say the opposite-the Bible is our mandate, the Bible is our deed'. [[Yitzhak Rabin]] at the time charged that "Bibi Netyanyahu is a Hamas collaborator. ... Hamas and Likud have the same political goal.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|O'Malley|2015|p=26|ps=: Israel incessantly invokes provisions of Hamas's charter that call for the elimination of Jews and the destruction of Israel, and its refusal to recognize the state of Israel. ... Hamas also calls attention to the clauses in the Likud charter that explicitly denounce a two-state solution. A double standard, says Hamas.}}</ref>

Several (other) authors have interpreted the [[1988 Hamas charter]] as a call for "armed struggle against Israel".{{sfn|O'Malley|2015|p=118}}

In 2009, Taghreed El-khodary and Ethan Bronner, writing in the [[New York Times]], said that Hamas' position is that it doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist, but is willing to accept as a compromise a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.<ref name="nytimes20090906"/>

Writing for ''Middle Eastern Studies'', Imad Alsoos says that Hamas has both a short and long-term objective: "The short-term objective aims to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, while the long-term objective still strives to liberate Mandate Palestine in its entirety.<ref name="Alsoos2"/> Establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza (as part of a ''hudna'' deal) would be Hamas's interim solution, during which Israel would not be formally recognized.<ref name="Alsoos2"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hroub |first1=Khaled |title=Hamas : political thought and practice |date=2000 |publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies |isbn=0887282768 |pages=72–73}}</ref>

In mid-2006, [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]'s [[Jerome Segal]] suggested that a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and a truce for many years could be considered Hamas's de facto recognition of Israel.<ref name="Hatz 14Aug2008"/>

As of January 2007, Israeli, American and European news media considered Hamas to be the "dominant political force" within the [[Palestinian territories]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Byman |first1=Daniel |last2=Palmer |first2=Alexander |date=7 October 2023 |title=What You Need to Know About the Israel-Hamas Violence |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/07/hamas-attack-israel-declares-war-gaza-why-explained/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007230520/https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/07/hamas-attack-israel-declares-war-gaza-why-explained/ |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=8 October 2023 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Urquhart |first=Conal |date=10 January 2007 |title=Hamas leader acknowledges 'reality' of Israel |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/10/israel1 |access-date=9 October 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015101442/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/10/israel1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Aviad |first=G. |date=2009 |title='Hamas' Military Wing in the Gaza Strip: Development, Patterns of Activity, and Forecast' |url=https://www.inss.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FILE1272778269-1.pdf |access-date=9 October 2023 |website=Military and Strategic Affairs, [[Institute for National Security Studies (Israel)]] |quote=However, once Hamas became the dominant political force in Palestinian society... |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015100941/https://www.inss.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FILE1272778269-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Journalist [[Zaki Chehab]] wrote in 2007 that Hamas's public concessions following the 2006 elections were "window-dressing" and that the organisation would never recognise Israel's right to exist.{{sfn|Chehab|2007|p=203}}

As to the question whether Hamas would be capable to enter into a long-term non-aggression treaty with Israel without being disloyal to their understanding of Islamic law and God's word, ''[[the Atlantic]]'' magazine columnist [[Jeffrey Goldberg]] in January 2009 stated: "I tend to think not, though I've noticed over the years a certain plasticity of belief among some Hamas ideologues. Also, this is the Middle East, so anything is possible".<ref>[http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/nizar_rayyan_of_hamas_on_gods.php "Nizar Rayyan of Hamas on God's Hatred of Jews" (by Jeffrey Goldberg)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122023505/http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/nizar_rayyan_of_hamas_on_gods.php |date=22 January 2009 }}, ''[[The Atlantic]]'', (2 January 2009).</ref>

Professor [[Mohammed Ayoob]] in his 2020 book, while discussing the [[2017 Hamas charter]], stated that "acceptance of the 1967 borders can be interpreted as a de facto acceptance of the preconditions for a two-state solution".<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Mohammed Ayoob]] |title=The Many Faces of Political Islam, Second Edition (January 2020) |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |page=133}}</ref>