MIDDLE EAST: Hamas has dropped its call for the destruction of Israel from its manifesto for the Palestinian parliamentary election in a fortnight, a move that brings the group closer to the mainstream Palestinian position of building a state within the boundaries of the occupied territories.
The Islamist faction, responsible for a long campaign of suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis, still calls for the maintenance of the armed struggle against occupation. However it steps back from Hamas's 1988 charter demanding Israel's eradication and the establishment of a Palestinian state in its place.
The manifesto makes no mention of the destruction of the Jewish state and instead takes a more ambiguous position by saying that Hamas has decided to compete in the elections because it would contribute to "the establishment of an independent state whose capital is Jerusalem".
The shift in emphasis comes as Hamas finds itself under pressure from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and from foreign governments to accept Israel's right to exist and to end its violence if it wants to be accepted as a political partner in a future administration.
The group is expected to emerge as the second largest party after Mr Abbas's Fatah in the next parliament. Opinion polls give it more than a third of the popular vote built on a campaign against Fatah's corruption and failure to contain growing criminality, and by claiming credit for driving the Israeli army and settlers out of Gaza.
However the manifesto continues to emphasise the armed struggle. "Our nation is at a stage of national liberation, and it has the right to act to regain its rights and end the occupation by using all means, including armed resistance."
Gazi Hamad, a Hamas candidate in the Gaza Strip, yesterday said the manifesto reflected the group's position of accepting an interim state based on 1967 borders, but leaving a final decision on whether to recognise Israel to future generations.
"Hamas is talking about the end of the occupation as the basis for a state, but at the same time Hamas is still not ready to recognise the right of Israel to exist.
"We cannot give up the right of the armed struggle because our territory is occupied in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. That is the territory we are fighting to liberate."
However Mr Hamad said the armed resistance was no longer Hamas's primary strategy.
"The policy is to maintain the armed struggle but it is not our first priority. We know that first of all we have to put more effort into resolving the internal problems, dealing with corruption, blackmail, chaos. This is our priority because if we change the situation for the Palestinians, it will make our cause stronger." - (Guardian Service)
Cabinet ministers from Israel's right-wing Likud Party are expected to tender resignations from the coalition government today, Israeli television said.
Channel Two said yesterday that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu had issued the resignation order. The walk-out had been planned for earlier in the week but was postponed out of respect for a stroke suffered last week by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.