The political leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas has said
the group is willing to take a serious step towards peace if Israel
does the same.
Khaled Meshaal told the BBC that Hamas would not renounce violence, saying resisting an occupation was legal.
But he said a long-term truce would be possible if Israel accepted conditions including a return to its 1967 borders.
Israel's acting PM said if he won next month's poll, Israel would retain West Bank settlement blocs and Jerusalem.
However, Ehud Olmert said Israel would be prepared to give up parts of the West Bank where most Palestinians were living.
His interview on Israel television was his first since taking power a month ago following Ariel Sharon's massive stroke.
'Recognise rights'
Mr Meshaal said he wanted to send a message to the next
Israeli government that Hamas would be ready to talk if Israel met
certain strict conditions.
The most important of these was that Israel must withdraw to the
boundaries it had until the 1967 Middle East war, Mr Meshaal told the
BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen.
Hamas would then "possibly give a long-term truce with Israel", he said.
"This is a position that Hamas could take, but not now,
only after Israel recognises the rights of the Palestinians, to show
and confirm its willingness to withdraw to the 1967 borders," he said.
Mr Meshaal said such a move by Israel could create
conditions for the international community to find a solution for all
of the region's problems.
Our correspondent says that by putting the onus on the
international community, the Hamas leader seems to be displaying a
willingness to accept international mediation.
But Mr Meshaal, who lives in exile in the Syrian
capital, Damascus, also warned that the militant group was capable of
leading the Palestinians in a long fight that they would be better able
to bear than Israel.
He and other Hamas leaders are in the Egyptian capital,
Cairo, to discuss the next step after their 25 January election win
over rivals Fatah.
Jerusalem issue
Hamas has largely observed a truce in its fight with Israel for the past year.
However, Israel believes offers like the latest by Mr Meshaal are a
ruse to allow Hamas to gather its strength, since its charter calls for
the destruction of the Jewish state, our correspondent says.
Speaking on Channel 2 TV, Mr Olmert said Israel would
retain "united Jerusalem", which would include occupied East Jerusalem,
if his Kadima party won Israel's general election on 28 March.
But he said Israel would disengage from parts of the
West Bank where the population is mostly Palestinian, at the same time
as retaining its three main settlement blocs.
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967. It annexed the area in 1981 and sees it as its exclusive domain.
Under international law the area is considered to be occupied territory.
East Jerusalem is often called Arab East Jerusalem
because the majority of its residents are Palestinian, and Palestinians
hope to establish their future capital there. | 
Now it's time for Israel to do what they said they would never do and enter dialogue with Hamas
