Hamas officials announced that the organization would lay down its guns and demilitarize if a “two-state” solution is achieved and independent Palestine is recognized.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member of Hamas, said on April 24 AP that this organization is ready to sign a ceasefire agreement lasting more than 5 years with Israel. Hamas is also willing to give up its weapons and transform into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is formed according to the “two-state” solution.
He said Hamas is ready to join the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party in the West Bank, thereby building a unified government for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
He emphasized that Hamas would accept “a Palestinian state with full sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Palestinian refugees repatriated in accordance with international resolutions”, taking the boundary along the Palestinian border. and Israel before 1967.
During the “Six Day War” in 1967 with a coalition of Arab countries, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, establishing field control over the entire city. International law considers East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip to be occupied territories.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member of Hamas, gave an interview to AP in Istanbul, Türkiye on April 24. Image: AP
Khalil al-Hayya asserted that Hamas’s military wing, also known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam brigade, will be dissolved once an independent Palestinian state is born.
“Every nation that fights against the occupying forces changes after gaining independence, sovereignty and nation building. The original organizations will become political parties and the guard forces will become national army,” he said in an interview in Istanbul, Turkey.
The statement of Mr. Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member of Hamas’s political office and former member of the Palestinian Legislative Council representing Gaza City, is an unexpected concession by the force that once controlled the entire Strip. Gaza, far from many principles of existence and struggle throughout the organization’s history.
Hamas stands for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya in Arabic, which means Islamic Resistance Movement. The group was formed in 1987, aiming to establish a Palestinian Islamic state in the territories planned before 1948.
This movement has always determined that the only way to complete its mission is violent struggle, so Hamas rejects all peaceful solutions and does not recognize the state of Israel.
Hamas is at the same time politically and strategically opposed to President Abbas’s Fatah movement in the West Bank, which is internationally recognized as the official Palestinian Authority.
Since 2005, when Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, Hamas began to participate in politics in Palestine. They won the Palestinian parliamentary election in 2006, fought Fatah forces and took control of the entire Gaza Strip from 2007 until the war with Israel in October 2023.
Borders of Israel, Gaza, West Bank according to the 1949 armistice agreement. Graphic: BBC
The statement was made by Khalil al-Hayya in the context of negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that have been deadlocked for many months. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said last week that the parties involved in the Israel-Hamas negotiations “did not show seriousness in dialogue”, so efforts towards a ceasefire and hostage exchange came to an end. still not successful yet.
Al-Hayya warned that Hamas will continue to exist despite all of Israel’s plans to use force, even when the Israeli army attacks Rafah, the last major city on the Gaza Strip. He affirmed that communication between the political branch and the military branch of Hamas inside and outside the Gaza Strip remained smooth during more than 6 months of fighting.
“Israel destroyed less than 20% of Hamas’s strength, both in terms of manpower and facilities. They cannot finish off Hamas. If so, only concessions are the only solution for all sides,” he commented.
Israel is determined not to give up its goal of completely defeating Hamas after this organization launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people.
Borders of Israel, Gaza, West Bank after the 1967 war. Graphic: BBC
The two-state solution is the idea of establishing two separate territorial states, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians.
The US, Israel’s closest ally, wants to promote a two-state solution to end the conflict in Gaza with a plan that includes establishing a Palestinian state, ensuring security for Israel and normalizing Israeli-Arab relations. Saudi. President Joe Biden’s administration believes this plan will lay the foundation for lasting and far-reaching changes in the region.
However, Israel has so far continuously avoided resuming negotiations and implementing the “two-state” solution, as well as stopping the campaign to attack Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Name (According to AP)
