21 Apr. 24
Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday that tens of thousands of people in Gaza have been killed by Israel using US weapons, adding that Washington’s veto against the establishment of a Palestinian state in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) effectively provides political protection to Tel Aviv’s actions, reports Anadolu Agency.
“The US position is deceptive, even though it says it does not want civilians to be harmed, this is an attempt at manipulation. All the civilians killed in Gaza, thousands, tens of thousands of martyrs, were killed with US weapons, with US rockets, under US political protection. What does the US veto of the cease-fire resolution at the UNSC mean? It means that the US is giving full protection and umbrella to the continuation of the massacres and murders in Gaza,” Haniyeh said in an exclusive interview with Anadolu.
He added that the US veto of the full membership of the state of Palestine at the UN shows that Washington has embraced the Israeli position, and opposes the rights of the Palestinian people.
Rafah operation could lead to massacre
Haniyeh warned against a possible military operation by the Israeli army in Rafah, saying that this could lead to a massacre of the Palestinian people.
“I call on all brotherly countries, our brothers in Egypt, our brothers in Türkiye, our brothers in Qatar as mediators, and the European countries to take action to restrain (Israeli) aggression and prevent the operation in Rafah, as well as ensure the complete withdrawal (of the Israeli army) from the Gaza Strip and end to attacks on Gaza.”
Speaking about the resistance of the Palestinian people, Haniyeh said: “If the Zionist enemy enters Rafah, Palestinian people will not raise the white flag. The resistance fighters in Rafah are ready to defend themselves and resist attacks.”
Negotiations with Israel
“We agreed to negotiations, but on the condition that attacks on the Palestinian people be stopped,” Haniyeh said, explaining the reason why they agreed to negotiate with Israel.
“But the condition is that these negotiations must result in a ‘permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal of troops and the return of the displaced people and a prisoner exchange agreement.”
Emphasizing that Israel has not accepted a cease-fire in Gaza despite all the negotiations held so far with dozens of proposals submitted through mediators, Haniyeh said: “All it (Israel) wants is to take back the prisoners and then restart the war in Gaza, and this is not possible. The Israeli army must completely withdraw from Gaza. Israel also does not want the displaced people to return to northern Gaza. It accepts a limited and gradual return. It is unacceptable.”
He emphasized that Israel proposes a small number of people for prisoner exchange, though it has arrested nearly 14,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza since Oct. 7.
“It is the US, which does not exert any pressure (on Israel), and, that is preventing an agreement from being reached. As soon as Israel accepts these demands, we will be ready to reach the agreement,” he added.
Governance of Gaza after war
Declaring that Gaza will be governed by Palestinians, Haniyeh said: “Hamas is not insisting on being the sole authority governing Gaza, but we are part of the Palestinian people and can establish a national unity government on a partnership basis and agree on the administration of Gaza.”
Haniyeh said that some alternatives regarding the administration of Gaza have been proposed, but success in these alternatives is not possible.
“Gaza is governed by Palestinians. These are national issues. We will not allow the situation of Palestine in Gaza, the West Bank, or both to be regulated by occupiers or anyone else,” he stated.
“We made a two-stage call for the regulation of Palestinian domestic politics. The first stage consists of the reorganization of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to include all Palestinian groups. The second stage involves the establishment of a national government that will undertake the reconstruction of Gaza and unify the institutions in the West Bank and Gaza under one roof, and ensure the holding of presidential, legislative, and national council elections,” he said.
To read Hamas leader’s views on Crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, Reflection of Gaza war on other fronts, ‘Netanyahu does not want to end war in Gaza’, ‘Zionists’ ambitions over Al-Aqsa’, ‘Israel should not go unpunished this time’, Media blackout, Killing of Haniyeh’s children, you may click here.
