Hamas fighters. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

In a new political document — intended to re-brand Hamas as a more moderate group — the Gaza-based terrorist organization calls for the destruction of Israel through “armed resistance.”

“Resistance to the occupation, by all means and methods, is a legitimate right guaranteed by divine laws and international norms and laws, at the heart of which is armed resistance. … Hamas refuses to infringe upon Resistance and its weapons, and emphasizes the right of our people to develop the means of Resistance and its mechanisms,” according to an Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) translation of the new document that was obtained by Al-Quds.

In the document, Hamas reaffirms that its objective is “the liberation of Palestine and confronting the Zionist project,” and that that the group’s “reference is Islam, in its principles and lofty goals.”

“Palestine,” according to Hamas, refers to all of Israel and the territories: “from the Jordan River eastward to the Mediterranean Sea on the West.”

While the document states that Hamas accepts a temporary Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, the group clearly proclaims that there will be “no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity…no renunciation of any part of the land of Palestine whatever the reasons, circumstances and pressures, and no matter how long the Occuption [lasts].”

Hamas wants to project a more peaceful stance to the international community, by trying to differentiate its conflict with the “Zionist entity” as opposed to the Jewish people. Nevertheless, the terrorist group goes out of its way to deny any Jewish rights to the land of Israel.

“The city of Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and has its religious, historical and civilizational status — Arab, Islamic and humane — and all its Islamic and Christian holy places, led by Holy al-Aqsa Mosque…,” reads the document’s section on Jerusalem.

More importantly, Hamas still refuses to revoke its 1988 charter, which openly advocates for Israel’s demise, and for “confronting the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews through jihad.”

Earlier this month, Gaza’s Hamas chief confirmed that his terrorist organization will continue its campaign to fight Israel until it secures “the liberation of all of Palestine.” An in-depth analysis of Hamas’ new manifesto suggests that it is a symbolic sham, aimed at deceiving Western governments into removing Hamas from their lists of terrorist organizations.