2017 Hamas charter

On 1 May 2017, Palestinian political and military organization <a href="/facts/Hamas/VjIkApsc">Hamas</a> unveiled A Document of General Principles and Policies , also known as the 2017 Hamas charter, "new charter", or "current" charter. It accepted the idea of a <a href="/facts/Palestinian_state/WWcc0vRx">Palestinian state</a> within the <a href="/facts/1967_borders/CDJMg4Go">1967 borders</a>, i.e. comprising the <a href="/facts/West_Bank/xzTTVNJl">West Bank</a> and <a href="/facts/Gaza_strip/GodcCxlV">Gaza strip</a> only, on the condition that also the <a href="/facts/Palestinian_right_of_return/T3EbjNXV">Palestinian refugees were allowed to return to their homes</a>, if it is clear this is the consensus of the Palestinians ("a formula of national consensus"[7]); but at the same time this document strove for the "complete liberation of Palestine, <a href="/facts/From_the_river_to_the_sea/DT1n9jMa">from the river to the sea</a>",[7] and did not explicitly recognize <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israel</a>. The new charter holds that <a href="/facts/Resistance_movement/peRRrz7y">armed resistance</a> against an <a href="/facts/Occupying_power/8jE5Q5UU">occupying power</a> is justified under <a href="/facts/International_law/WJEPeq44">international law</a>.
While the 1988 <a href="/facts/1988_Hamas_charter/6zCWIKhF">Hamas Charter</a> had been widely criticized for its <a href="/facts/Antisemitism/kUpfFkqx">antisemitism</a>, the 2017 document removed the antisemitic language and stated that Hamas' fight was not with <a href="/facts/Jews/T9Y4wE6A">Jews</a> as such because of their <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">religion</a> but with the <a href="/facts/Zionism/kL92sl76">Zionist</a> project. When asked, Hamas leaders explained that "The original charter has now become a historical document and part of an earlier stage in our evolution.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." <a href="/facts/Khaled_Mashal/sDWYLIFA">Khaled Mashal</a> stated that the new document reflected "our position for now." However, Hamas fell short of formally repudiating the original 1988 charter. 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 <a href="/facts/Islamist/4u3G2nEf">Islamist</a> factions.
Views on the 2017 document varied. While some welcomed it as a sign of pragmatism and increased political maturity, and a potential step on the way to peace, many others dismissed it as a merely cosmetic effort designed to make Hamas sound more palatable while changing nothing about Hamas' underlying aims and methods.

2017 Hamas charter open-in-new

2017 Hamas charter