Story highlights Hamas began work on the document four years ago

Document draws a strong rebuke from Israel

Doha (CNN) The Palestinian militant group Hamas unveiled a new policy document Monday that sees the group accepting for the first time the idea of a Palestinian state that would fall within the borders that existed in 1967, before Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza and all of Jerusalem.

The group has long been under pressure to update its 1988 founding charter, which calls for the destruction of the state of Israel and advocates violence to achieve its goal of restoring a Palestinian state.

However, the new document offers no recognition of the legitimacy of the "Zionist enemy," the term Hamas uses for Israel. Instead, it seeks to draw a distinction between political and religious struggle: "Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project, not with the Jews because of their religion," said Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who introduced the "political document of principles and general policies" at a press conference in Doha, Qatar, where he lives in exile.

He added: "Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine."

The new document also drops specific reference to Hamas's own religious roots in the Muslim Brotherhood. That's something likely designed to appeal to a number of Arab states, in particular Egypt.

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