Palestinian Hamas militants are seen during a military show in the Bani Suheila district on July 20, 2017 in Gaza City, Gaza. Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Published April 26, 2024
Some Hamas officials are signaling that the militant group could give up armed struggle against Israel if the Palestinians get an independent state in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
The messaging suggests a softening of Hamas’ position as its fate hangs in the balance with Israel’s pummeling of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas ruled before the war. The Palestinian militant group has long called for the Jewish state to be destroyed.
Basem Naim, an Istanbul-based member of Hamas’ political bureau, told CNN on Thursday that the group would agree to disarm if an independent Palestinian state was established.
“If an independent state with its capital in Jerusalem, while preserving the right of return for refugees, (is created) Al Qassam could be integrated into (a future) national army,” he said, referring to the group’s armed wing.
Hamas has traditionally rejected a two-state solution that would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel and has instead advocated the creation of a Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine that today encompasses Israel, the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Mustafa Barghouti, President of the Palestinian National Initiative, said he wasn’t aware of Hamas offering to lay down its arms before, but said it would be a significant move if true.
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SOURCE: www.cnn.com
RELATED: Hamas official says group ready to disarm after two-state solution
Khalil al-Hayya is a high-ranking Hamas official who has represented the Palestinian group in negotiations for a ceasefire and captive exchange [Getty]
Published April 25, 2024
A top Hamas official has told The Associated Press that the Palestinian group is open to agreeing to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
The comments by Khalil al-Hayya, a high-ranking Hamas official who has represented the Palestinian group in negotiations for a ceasefire and captive exchange, in an interview on Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of ceasefire talks.
It is unlikely that Israel would consider such a scenario as its far-right administration is adamantly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state on 1967 internationally recognised borders, as it continues settlement building on occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking to the AP in Istanbul, Al-Hayya said Hamas wants to join the Palestine Liberation Organisation, headed by the rival Fatah faction, to form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank.
He said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions”, along Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
If that happens, he said, the group’s military wing would dissolve.
“All the experiences of people who fought against occupiers, when they became independent and obtained their rights and their state, what have these forces done? They have turned into political parties and their defending fighting forces have turned into the national army,” he said.
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SOURCE: www.newarab.com
RELATED: Hamas official says group ready to disarm as US sees ‘avenue’ for deal
Hamas has declared its willingness to accept a five-year truce an disarm if a Palestinian state is established based on the 1967 borders.
Published April 25, 2024
A Hamas official expressed on Wednesday the movement’s readiness to lay down its weapons and transition into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along the pre-1967 borders.
In an interview in Istanbul with the Associated Press published on Thursday, Khalil al-Hayya, a leading member of Hamas’ political bureau and deputy head of the movement in the Gaza Strip, said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions.”
If that happens, Hamas would disband its military wing, the Qatar-based Hamas official said.
Hayya, who has represented the movement in the indirect talks with Israel on a Gaza cease-fire and a hostage deal, added that Hamas was open to a truce in Gaza for five years or more.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been engaged in intense mediation talks to secure a deal that would end the hostilities in the Gaza Strip and see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. But several hurdles remain. Hamas is pushing for a permanent cease-fire while Israel insists on continuing the war until all of Hamas is eradicated.
The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented cross-border assault Oct. 7, has killed more than 34,000 people and injured over 77,000 others, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave.
Hamas killed nearly 1,200 people during its Oct. 7 assault and took over 240 others hostage, 110 of which were released during a brief seven-day truce late last November.
Hayya’s remarks come a week after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Hamas was willing to disarm once a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders is established. Fidan made this statement during a press conference in Doha following his meeting with Hamas’ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Qatari capital.
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SOURCE: www.al-monitor.com
