Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today shrugged off comments by the exiled leader of the Islamist Palestinian Hamas group in which he acknowledged the existence of Israel.
Khaled Meshaal, whose Hamas movement leads the Palestinian government, said in an interview yesterday that Israel is a "matter of fact", softening a previous refusal to accept that the Jewish state existed.
Mr Olmert, asked about Meshaal's acceptance of Israel as a state that will endure, said: "Does that mean we weren't until now?
"Should I be expected to check what he said? Should I be expected to read what he said?", Olmert added.
Meshaal said in the interview in Syria: "There will remain a state called Israel." He also said Hamas would only consider formal recognition of Israel when a Palestinian state has been created.
