CAIRO, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Meshaal said his militant group is willing to deal with Israel on entwined day-to-day issues and security coordination.
In an interview with Cairo's mass-circulation daily al-Ahram to be published Saturday, Meshaal said Hamas might change its position on peace negotiations with Israel if the latter declares readiness to pull out from Palestinian territories it captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem.
However, Meshaal reiterated Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel.
In the interview, a copy of which was obtained by United Press International, Meshaal said, "negotiations with Israel are of two types, one related to normal day-to-day issues in view of the entwinement of these matters between the two sides, and we have no objection to deal with Israel on that matter."
He said Hamas is also ready for security coordination with Israel, notably on the movement of Palestinians, whether for work or medical treatment within the framework of daily life activity, but refuses any coordination for Israel security activities such as hunting down and arresting militants.
"As for the second type of negotiations, notably political talks, we believe it is futile for the time being," Meshaal said.
"Negotiations before Israel's withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories will be tantamount to a gratis offer," he added.
Meshaal pointed out that the ball is now in Israel's court "because it us up to the Jewish state to withdraw from the Palestinian territories until the 1967 border, which is the official Arab ceiling, recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinians and acknowledge the right of return of Palestinian refugees."
"Only then the international community has the right to ask us for a stance and we will then say our word," he said, stressing that "recognizing Israel by Hamas is not the magic solution."
"It is illogical to ask a people under occupation to recognize its occupier, while it is logical to request the aggressor to stop its aggression," he added.
