Hamas suggests 10-year truce in exchange for land

RAMALLAH - A top Hamas official has said the main Palestinian militant group could declare a 10-year truce with Israel if the Jewish state withdrew from territory occupied since 1967.

Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi said Hamas had concluded that it was "difficult to liberate all our land at this stage, so we accept a phased liberation".

"We accept a state in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. We propose a 10-year truce in return for [Israeli] withdrawal and the establishment of a state," he said from hiding in the Gaza Strip.

His comments appeared to strengthen signs of a big political shift by a faction sworn to destroy Israel and now seeming to move closer to the aims of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

But Israel dismisses any talk of Hamas moderation as a smokescreen for military preparations by a group at the forefront of suicide bombings.

Rantissi said any such new proposal would not mean that Hamas recognised Israel or spell the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The truce could last 10 years, though "not more than 10 years".

Israeli officials also say it would be impossible to return to pre-1967 borders, emphasising that the Palestinians could not expect East Jerusalem, some major Jewish settlements or other land deemed vital for security.

- REUTERS