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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/684693.html
Standing Fast on Two States
(Ha'aretz) Danny Rubinstein - Israel must insist that the Hamas government accept the principle of two states for two peoples; that it recognize Israel and honor the agreements that were signed in the past. Israel has many partners to these demands, in the region and in the rest of the world. Hamas leaders say they cannot recognize Israel because that would be a transgression of their faith. With all due respect to faith, if Hamas spokesmen have already found a formula that enables them to maintain a truce, or hudna, with Israel over a period of many years, they can also find a formula for temporary recognition of the State of Israel for many years. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a political conflict, not a religious conflict. In the past and the present, the Jews and the State of Israel have maintained good relations with Muslims and with Muslim countries - and it is also possible to aim for a compromise solution with devout Palestinian Muslims - based on the clear condition of mutual recognition.