Hamas Ready For 'Two-State' Solution?

Official Implies Recognition Of Israel For First Time; Meanwhile, Israeli Air Strike Kills 6 Palestinians

(CBS/AP)  Hamas is ready for a "two-state" solution with Israel, a senior official said Friday, in what would appear to be a softening in the militant group's position that would imply recognition of the Jewish state for the first time.

The official said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas would discuss the idea with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate, in a meeting in Gaza City later Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not yet been submitted.

This comes the same day that Israeli aircraft fired missiles into a car carrying Palestinian militants, killing six people including a bomb maker and his 5-year-old daughter, in the deadliest Israeli attack since the Hamas-led Palestinian government took office.

The Israeli strike targeted a training camp of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group for gunmen from various factions, including many with ties to the Islamic militant Hamas. The group has attacked Israeli targets in the past, including planting bombs under tanks.

The Hamas official’s suggestion that the party may be ready to recognize Israel comes just one day after Haniyeh had told The Associated Press that Hamas would not recognize Israel.

The contradicting statements come at a time when Hamas is under intense international pressure to moderate its views, including recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting existing peace agreements. In Brussels, the EU announced Friday it would cut off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led government.

The idea of accepting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an apparent attempt by Hamas to appease the international community, without having to state directly that it is recognizing Israel.

Hamas officials have said they would only grant such recognition in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from all lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

In other developments:

The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said his newly-formed Cabinet would work with President Mahmoud Abbas to resolve the Palestinian Authority's looming financial crisis. Abbas seized more powers from the Islamic militants this week, including control over security forces.

The State Department announced Friday that the United States will cancel or suspend up to $411 million in Palestinian aid out of concern the money could help the new Hamas leaders of the government there. At the same time, the United States will redirect some of that money to humanitarian projects for the impoverished Palestinian people. Humanitarian assistance will rise by 57 percent to $287 million over several years, the department said. Another $13 million will go for new vetting procedures to ensure that even humanitarian aid funneled through the U.N. Relief Agency and approved charities does not end up in Hamas hands, the department said.

In a similar move, the EU has cut off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government because of its refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel, an EU official said Friday. "Payments to or through the Palestinian Authority are not currently being authorized," said an official. This amounts to collective punishment of the Palestinian people, a Hamas spokesman responded Friday.

Early Friday morning, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at three sites in Gaza City, including a security compound not far from Abbas' office, witnesses said. No one was hurt. The other two targets were offices of Abbas' Fatah Party, they said. The airstrikes followed three rocket attacks from Gaza at Israel, causing some damage but no casualties.

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during an overnight arrest raid in the West Bank, though details of the shooting were in dispute. Fatah Alla Yaaesh, 55, said he became alarmed when he heard a knock at his door during the night and called relatives for help. When his relatives arrived in a car, the army shot at the vehicle, he said. One occupant, Wafaa Yaeesh, 22, was killed and four others were wounded, he said.

On Thursday, the PLO ordered the Hamas-led Foreign Ministry to coordinate with it before making major pronouncements on diplomatic policy. The PLO is technically in charge of the Palestinians' foreign affairs.

In exchange for backing a two-state solution, Hamas wants Abbas to grant the group its "constitutional rights," the senior Hamas official said. Abbas has taken steps recently to curb Hamas' power in security matters. On Thursday, Abbas named a longtime ally to supervise the security forces that are supposed to be under the authority of the Hamas Cabinet.

Sitting beneath a picture of Abbas and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Haniyeh said he rejected any attempts to take power away from Hamas, which won Jan. 25 parliamentary elections. His Cabinet was sworn in last week.

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©MMVI CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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