Mashaal: Hamas Will Be Part of Any Solution

"I promise the American administration and the international community that we will be part of the solution, period," Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal told the New York Times in an interview published Monday.

He added that his organization was eager for a ceasefire with "Israel" and for a deal that would return captured "Israeli" occupation soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for many Palestinian detainees.

The interview was held in the office of Hamas' political bureau chief in Damascus, after Mashaal was reelected to head the bureau for the fourth time. The five-hour interview spread over two days and was conducted by the New York Times' correspondent in the Syrian capital, Taghreed el-Khoudary, who reported that the Hamas leader gave off an air of serene self-confidence.

This was Mashaal's first interview to an American news organization in a year, and its goal, he said, was "to understand Hamas is to listen to its vision directly."

Mashaal reiterated stances voiced in the past, in regards to the Palestinian resistance group's willingness to sign a long-term truce with a state on the 1967 borders, including occupied east Jerusalem (al-Quds) and the right of return.

Asked what "long-term" meant, he said 10 years. He refused, however, to recognize the Zionist entity's existence, clarifying that "there is only one enemy in the region, and that is 'Israel'."

In this context, Mashaal noted that Palestinian leaders Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas had granted such recognition, but to no avail. "Did that recognition lead to an end of the occupation? It's just a pretext by the United States and 'Israel' to escape dealing with the real issue and to throw the ball into the Arab and Palestinian court," he said.

The Hamas leader explained the current lull on the ground by saying that his organization has stopped firing rockets at the occupied territories "for now". However, he did not provide a clear explanation for the reasons for the truce, apart from saying that it "serves the Palestinians' interest."

"After all, the firing is a method, not a goal," he said. "Resistance is a legitimate right, but practicing such a right comes under an evaluation by the movement's leaders."

Asked about the Hamas charter, which calls for the obliteration of "Israel" through jihad and cites as fact the infamous anti-Semitic forgery, Mashaal did not offer to revoke the charter, but said it was 20 years old. "We are shaped by our experiences," he added.

The Hamas leader went on to express his satisfaction with US President Barack Obama, whose language, he said, "is different and positive." However, he expressed unhappiness about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying hers "is a language that reflects the old administration policies."

Mashaal, who barely escaped assassination at the hands of "Israeli" agents in 1997 in Jordan, was asked if he feared assassination. He replied by saying that he did not fear and would view it as martyrdom. "Death has become like drinking water," he concluded.