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of the imagination and heritage, and of the nostalgic dream of restoring the Islamic caliphate. The concept of the state Today’s debate within Hamas over the concept of the state is more concrete than theoretical. The political conditions in the Palestinian territories do not allow for dreaming about unrealistic grand theories being promoted by some Islamist movements. Hamas is facing real-world problems that require real-world solutions. The Palestinian state being envisioned by Palestinian, Arab, and world politicians is based on the June 1967 borders. But does that fit Hamas’s political vision and intellectual orientation? Generations of Islamists have been raised on the concept of the “Islamic state,” which is synonymous with the Islamic caliphate. But Hamas’s situation is a little different. Israel’s occupation of all Palestinian territories is a political and concrete obstacle to the dream of an Islamic state and it forces the consideration of more realistic options. So we have started hearing, from Hamas, statements about establishing a Palestinian state on the June 1967 borders. There is no doubt that this development is an intellectual and political shift by Hamas. More than 20 years ago, Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin proposed a long truce with Israel. But today, such a proposal is more realistic and is attributed to Hamas’s current leader Khaled Meshaal. Hamas in 2013 is different than Hamas in 1993. Hamas is now an influential player and its statements and stances are taken into account by regional and international decision-making circles. Recognition and commitment The shuttle diplomacy by Western officials between Gaza, where Hamas’s domestic leadership is located, and the Arab capitals of Doha, Cairo and Amman have only one objective: getting Hamas to agree to the conditions that would allow it to be embraced by the international community. In other words, they want Hamas to agree to the two-state solution. And that, explicitly or implicitly, essentially means that Hamas has recognized Israel’s right to exist! Those who have been following Hamas’s course since it was founded 25 years ago notice that every once in awhile there is HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_028738