Khaled Meshal who just stepped down as Hamas’ politburo chief, told Der Spiegel on Saturday that he rejects President Trump’s view that Hamas falls into the category of “evil.” He also insisted that any approach that doesn’t acknowledge the legitimate rights of Arabs in Gaza and the PA is doomed to fail – which also applies to any strategy that ignores the fact that Hamas is a part of the “Palestinian resistance.”
Spiegel asked: “Trump has placed Hamas in the same ranks as al-Qaida or Islamic State (ISIS). Was he wrong to do that?”
Meshal responded: “We totally reject that. What Hamas and the Palestinian people are doing is legitimate resistance against the Israeli occupation. Our resistance is confined to the territories inside Palestine and only targets the Israeli occupation. We are not blood-mongering killers who kill innocent people around the world.”
Only innocent people in Gaza and in Israel…
However, Meshal noted, “We are witnessing a new American president who speaks differently than his predecessors. If he is serious enough, he could pick up the opportunity that is available to create real peace in this region. With a new approach, he could achieve what all previous approaches have failed to.”
Still, “regrettably, what we are now seeing is that the new US government is stuck in the same old, partisan thinking patterns in terms of our resistance. That is a mistake.”
And, should you mistaken him for a leader who cares about the suffering of his people, Meshal insisted that “the Palestinian issue is a national, political issue. It’s not to be seen as an economic issue that would be solved or addressed by some economic approach that makes the living standard of the people under occupation better.”
Because then they’d be strong enough to free themselves from Hamas, naturally. Mrs. Meshal didn’t raise a fool.
What about the so-called new Hamas charter? Curb your enthusiasm, Meshal is not the easy date you may have hoped he would be: “We are prepared in the context of a national consensus to accept a state on the lines of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital and fulfilling the right of return for refugees.” However – “That does not mean that this document recognizes the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation. Nor does it mean that we will cede any part of the Palestinian territories.”
But what does he mean by “Israeli occupation,” seeing as the last Israeli has left the Gaza Strip back in 2005?
“We will not concede our vision, our principles and our legitimate rights as Palestinians. That includes Palestinian land, which we will not give up,” Meshal insisted, so that’s Tel Aviv, in other words.
Concerning which Spiegel noted, “But there is a serious contradiction between your policy and your vision,” asking point-blank: “Is your new line just window dressing? Is the destruction of Israel still Hamas’ goal?”
“When we see seriousness from the Israeli side toward addressing the requirements of real peace in this region, then we would be prepared to make concessions,” said Meshal, and this means only after Israel resettles around three million Arabs in the homes abandoned by their grandparents in 1948. This is when a true peace would fall on the land.
Beneath which would rest the Jews of Israel…
As to Hamas’ willingness, never mind its ability to lead, Spiegel asked: “Major protests were held against the Hamas regime in the past year. Why can’t Hamas govern Gaza in a more efficient, better way?”
“The protests were against Israel, not against Hamas,” Meshal insisted. Which puts in question his ability to read Arabic, as in on the signs carried by demonstrators.