Hamas accepts the existence of the state of Israel but will not officially recognise it until the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the group's leader in Damascus, Khaled Meshaal.

In comments made to Reuters, Mr Meshaal softened his anti-Israel rhetoric, suggesting that Hamas does not seek the destruction of Israel as written in the group's charter. He said that Israel is a "reality" and "there will remain a state called Israel, this is a matter of fact".

"The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel. The problem is that the Palestinian state does not exist," he said.

Israel and the international community have demanded that the Hamas government recognise Israel as a prerequisite to receiving tax revenues and international funding. Its refusal to do so has led to Palestinian Authority employees receiving little or no wages for almost a year and a severe depression in the Palestinian economy.

Mr Meshaal, who Israel tried to assassinate in 1997 by injecting poison into his ear, is seen as a hardliner who has used his influence in the last year to move Hamas from a political direction to greater confrontation with Israel.

He was seen as the driving force behind the Hamas-led attack on Israeli positions near Gaza in June last year, which led to the capture of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit and a full scale confrontation with Israel.

Because Mr Meshaal is the conduit for much of Hamas's finances, he is able to exert a major influence on the armed wing of the group, which diverged from the political wing led by Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian prime minister.

Palestinian observers have long suspected that Mr Meshaal, who has never set foot in Gaza or the West Bank, is a pragmatist whose ultimate aim is to lead the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

Hamas is not currently a member of the PLO but as the dominant political force in the Palestinian territories, it is only a matter of time and negotiation before it takes its place. The PLO is dominated by Fatah and leftist groups who were powerful in the 1960s and 1970s but whose influence has waned. The current head is Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president who took over after the death of Yasser Arafat.

Mr Meshaal's comments are far from the rhetoric of the Hamas charter, which was published in 1988. In the pre-amble, the charter notes that "Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it has eliminated its predecessors".

But speaking in Damascus, Mr Meshaal said: "As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land."

Mr Meshaal's comments caused some surprise among Hamas officials in Gaza, although they were quick to point out there was little substantial divergence from other statements by the group.

Ahmed Yusuf, an advisor to Mr Haniyeh, said that Hamas recognised Israel's de facto existence but was not going to recognise it officially.

"Israel is there, it is part of the United Nations and we do not deny its existence. But we still have rights and land there which have been usurped and until these matters are dealt with we will withhold our recognition," he said.