Doha
 — 

NCS interviewed a key Hamas negotiator and member of the militant group’s political bureau, Ghazi Hamad, this week, at a key second within the warfare with Israel.

Two weeks earlier, Hamad had survived an attack on the Hamas delegation in Doha, the capital of Qatar, which has been a key mediator within the battle. The interview coated a variety of subjects – how Hamas now regards October 7, the destiny of the remaining hostages in Gaza, the state of ceasefire negotiations and the way forward for a post-war Gaza.

Here are the key takeaways from what he mentioned:

Hamas stays unapologetic about October 7

Nearly two years after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing practically 1,200 individuals and taking greater than 250 hostages, Hamad made clear that Hamas has no regrets about its actions that day nor the lethal penalties they triggered.

He repeated a false declare by Hamas, insisting it focused solely Israeli navy installations and that it by no means meant to kidnap civilians. He insisted the assault was justified due to many years of Israeli occupation and blockade. And slightly than taking accountability for the function of the assault in triggering Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, he made clear he believes the Palestinian trigger has been boosted by Hamas’s assault.

“You know what is the benefit of October 7 now?” Hamad requested, earlier than itemizing off rising worldwide help for a Palestinian trigger.

“I think this is a golden moment for the world to change the history,” he mentioned.

Interestingly, his argument is just not far from the speaking factors of senior Israeli officers, who’ve lambasted a wave of recognition of Palestinian statehood as a “reward for terrorism.” At the UN General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded the actions – many by conventional allies of Israel, as “shameful, sheer madness and insane.”

Hamad and Netanyahu each appear keen to attract a direct line from October 7 to this second of rising help for the Palestinian trigger.

In a social media put up Friday morning, Israel’s Foreign Ministry characterised Hamad’s feedback to NCS as “a thank you note to Emmanuel Macron from senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad.”

hamas official diamond split.jpg

‘Do you settle for any accountability?’: NCS presses Hamas official on struggling in Gaza

hamas official diamond split.jpg

5:53

In the interview, Hamad made no apologies for the large value Palestinians have paid within the practically two years since Hamas triggered the warfare in Gaza on October 7, 2023: More than 65,000 Palestinians killed by Israel, practically all the 2 million Gazans displaced from their houses, and Gaza in ruins.

Hamad’s response to all of it: “I know the price (is) so high, but I’m asking again, what is the option?”

Pressed repeatedly on whether or not Hamas bears any accountability for the demise and destruction it triggered on October 7, Hamad – who has beforehand mentioned Palestinians are “proud to sacrifice martyrs” – demurred and deflected.

Even when confronted with the voices of Palestinians in Gaza who do maintain Hamas accountable and are calling on Hamas to put down its weapons for the sake of ending the warfare, Hamad was defiant.

Instead, he made clear he believes that upsetting Israel’s overwhelming assaults on Gaza and the following deaths of Palestinians was each needed and justified. And Hamas’ perception within the legitimacy of armed resistance because the pathway to its goals seems as rock-solid as ever.

“What do you expect for the Palestinian to do, just to keep silent and all the world is watching the suffering of the Palestinian people and doing nothing?” Hamad mentioned.

Notwithstanding the newest declare by US President Donald Trump on Friday {that a} deal to finish the warfare is “close,” Hamad described talks as “frozen.”

Two weeks after he and different senior Hamas officers had been focused in an Israeli strike, Hamad mentioned there was no motion to get negotiations again on observe.

He blamed Israel for the impasse, saying its try and assassinate him and different Hamas negotiations signalled that it’s “not interested in negotiation.”

For those that will pore over this interview, searching for clues to point that Hamas is searching for an off-ramp or ready to make concessions the place pink traces as soon as stood, they are going to be sorely upset.

Hamad mentioned Hamas remains to be curious about an all-encompassing deal to finish the warfare during which it will launch all 48 remaining hostages, however he supplied no indication of any shift in its basic positions, akin to its opposition to the demand by Israel and far of the worldwide neighborhood that the militant group be fully disarmed.

Even as Israel has launched a major invasion of Gaza City, Hamad supplied little indication that Israel’s navy stress is impacting the group’s core negotiating positions.

With talks frozen and a brand new US proposal to finish the warfare circulating amongst Arab nations, it’s clear that the United States will proceed to be the key participant in negotiations round any potential ceasefire and hostage launch deal.

So it was particularly notable to listen to Hamad extra vital than conciliatory in his remarks in regards to the US and Trump.

Hamad accused the US president of giving “the green light” for Israel’s try and assassinate him (which the US denies) and accused US negotiators of getting “lost their credibility” by strolling again earlier proposals.

“They could not prove that they are an honest and neutral mediator,” Hamad mentioned.

Still, he mentioned he believes the pathway to ending the warfare runs by means of Trump.

Trump, he mentioned, ought to “impose his position on Israel in order to stop the war.”

“But I think it is not easy to trust Mr. Trump or to trust the American administration all the time,” Hamad mentioned. “They put on the glasses of Israel. They adopt the Israeli position.”

Two weeks after he and different Hamas leaders had been focused in Doha, Hamas’s leaders have been left with a transparent conclusion: Nowhere is secure for them.

Any sense of security that when existed within the Qatari capital – a longtime haven for Hamas officers, with the tacit settlement of the US and Israel – has now been shattered. So too has the belief between Israel and Qatar, a vital channel for backchannel diplomacy.

“No, no one can be safe,” Hamad mentioned when requested if he feels secure in Doha. “(Israel) is a crazy state. They could do anything you expect.”

That concern about safety was clear as NCS arrived for the interview with Hamad in Doha. His safety element performed an intensive sweep: No telephones had been allowed within the room; even pens had been collected for last-minute inspection earlier than the interview started.

Nadeen Ebrahim contributed further reporting.



Sources

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *