In a significant development, Hamas, an extremist organisation in Palestine has droppted its call for the destruction of Israel from its manifesto for the coming parliamentary election. The move is considered a step towards the mainstream Palestinian position of building a state within the boundaries of the occupied territories.



Hamas, an Islamist faction, is credited with suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis. It still calls for the maintenance of the armed struggle against occupation. But now it has stepped back from its 1988 charter demanding Israel’s eradication and the establishment of a Palestinian state in its place.



Its election manifesto does not make any mention of the destruction of the Jewish state.