ANKARA
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Sunday that the Gaza war will spell the downfall of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
In an interview with Anadolu, Hamdan said Israel has set obstacles to mediation efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli government did its best to undermine the process,” added Hamdan, a member of Hamas’ political bureau.
Hamas accepted on May 6 a Gaza cease-fire proposal drawn by Egypt and Qatar. Israel, however, said the truce offer did not meet its key demands and decided to launch a ground attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
“Hamas will continue its efforts to put an end to the Israeli onslaught against Gaza and the Palestinians,” Hamdan said.
The Hamas leader stressed that Israel will not achieve any of its set goals in Gaza through its deadly offensive on the enclave.
“They will not be able to destroy the resistance in Palestine,” he stressed. “We have been resisting (the Israeli occupation) for 75 years.”
Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 35,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 79,500 others injured since October following an attack by Hamas.
More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Post-Netanyahu era
Last week, Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant clashed over post-war plans in Gaza.
“The Americans should start thinking about the post-Netanyahu era, not the post-Hamas era,” Hamdan said.
“The end of the war will be the collapse of the Israeli government, not the collapse of Hamas,” he stressed.
The Hamas leader said the Israeli government does not have any political vision to deal with the Palestinian cause.
“They don’t have any willingness to live with the Palestinians,” Hamdan said.
“Netanyahu and Gallant understand well that the end of the Gaza war will spell the collapse of their government. Everyone is seeking to have more votes on behalf of the blood of Palestinians,” said Hamdan.
Deployment of international force
As for proposals for the deployment of an international force with the participation of regional countries or the UN in Gaza, Hamdan said: “We have tried this in Hebron (in the West Bank) a few years ago and they did nothing.”
“There is something more important than this,” he said. “There are international resolutions considering Israel as an occupying power in the lands of June 4, 1967, including East Jerusalem.”
If these resolutions were applied, Hamdan said, Israel would “have withdrawn from the occupied Palestinian lands.”
“No one is forcing Israel to implement these resolutions,” he said. “If the international community is willing to do something, they have to start from that point – put an end to the occupation.”
As for a temporary pier built by the US on Gaza’s coast to deliver aid to the besieged territory, Hamdan said the pier is related to the coming US elections in November.
“They want to show a humanitarian face for the US administration,” he added.
The Hamas leader said the US-built pier can be used to deliver the loads of around 100 aid trucks daily, compared to around 1,000 trucks through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
“We welcome any support for our nation, but we have to say frankly and openly that we will not accept any kind of new occupation of the Palestinian land or support for the Israeli occupation,” he stressed.
Türkiye’s support for Palestine
Hamdan said Türkiye has been a main supporter of the Palestinian cause.
“Türkiye’s efforts are very important because they have a major influence not only on the Palestinian cause but also on the region,” he added.
The Hamas leader hailed Turkish efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“Decisions also taken by Türkiye in the last two weeks were important on the political and economic levels,” he added.
Recently, Türkiye has announced its intention to join South Africa in its lawsuit against Israel, further intensifying its stance by cutting all trade operations with Israel.
“The Palestinians are in urgent need of humanitarian support,” Hamdan said. “It’s more likely for Islamic countries to take the lead in providing international assistance.”
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi