12/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meschaal, spoke in an interview with Reuters on 10 January about the “reality” of Israel's existence, while refusing to recognise it all the same. “The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel, the problem is that there is not a Palestinian State”, he said. '”I am not speaking of recognising Israel or accepting it as a reality. As a Palestinian today, I am speaking of a Palestinian and Arab request for a State within the 1967 borders. It is true that, in reality, there will be an entity or a State called Israel on the rest of the Palestinian soil. That is a reality, but I do not wish to treat it from the point of view of recognition”. This declaration is noted “with interest” in Brussels, said the spokeswoman for the EU High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana. The remarks should be confirmed at a more formal level, she said, as they will not in themselves be enough to meet the three demands made of Hamas by the international community (recognition of Israel, respect of international agreements and cessation of violence). (fb)