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| PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR |

the situation in Gaza and the population paid the price.
I believe that the new Hamas leadership, who are them-
selves from Gaza, felt that a change was needed.

So, in no cases did the Ramallah administration work
with the Israelis to destabilise Hamas?
We do not agree with Hamas on everything, but they are
part of the Palestinian people. We would never work with
the Israelis to harm our people.

Does Hamas now recognise Israel?
Hamas will be part of the Government of National Unity
which recognises the right of the State of Israel to exist.
Some parties in the Israeli Government do not recognise
the right of the Palestinian State to exist, but what matters Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
to us is the recognition of their government as a whole. The
same logic should apply in their case. What is the Palestinian strategy for initiating any pro-
cess that will lead to a lasting resolution?
How has the situation in Qatar, which was understood Peace is our strategy. But there are other forces at play
to provide support to Hamas, influenced the situation? that we can leverage. President Trump has said he wanted
We must not let external factors prevent us from focusing to make the ‘deal of the century’, and there are talks with
on our national cause. We must choose our own path. The US envoys Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner. We think
Israelis are trying to torpedo this agreement but we won’t that President Trump is serious about this. If the US admin-
let them. Reconciliation is the only way forward. istration is a friend of Israel, as they constantly say, then
they will want peace for Israel. We want the occupation to
end in order to enjoy true independence. If the US admin-
Speaking of rapprochement and reconciliation, has istration is serious about peace they will propose a proper
there been any movement since we last talked in terms two-state solution based upon the 1967 borders.
of serious discussion with the Israeli Government? We shall also pursue legitimacy and justice through es-
No, there is no progress at all. We are in a worse situation tablished international bodies such as the UN and the In-
than when I last talked to you three years ago. Settlements ternational Criminal Court. We also hope that the EU will
and settler numbers continue to increase. The Israeli Gov- take more steps to promote peace in the region.
ernment has shifted towards the extreme right and some In 2002 the Arab Summit proposed a plan for peace, pre-
Israeli politicians have called on their government to oc- sented by Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. That plan is still
cupy the entire West Bank and expel all Palestinians. A on the table. If Israel withdraws from occupied Arab terri-
senior Israeli politician (Minister of education Neftali Benett) tories, all Arab countries would establish normal diplomatic
said late last year that it was time for a massive settlement relations with it. The Organisation for Islamic Cooperation
building boom. How can there be progress with this sort of also said that they would establish peace and normal rela-
rhetoric and this sort of posturing? tions once Israel withdraws from occupied lands. It is in
Israel’s strategic interest to end the occupation and make
Do you see any counterbalance within Israel to the peace with its neighbours. In 1978, Israel signed a peace
standpoint of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Govern- deal which Egypt followed by a similar deal with Jordan in
ment? 1994. The ice between Israel and those two Arab coun-
The outlook is not good. In fact, the new chairperson of tries has not thawed, but at least there have been no real
the opposition Labour Party, Avi Gabbay, recently made incidents between them. The best way for Israel to guar-
statements that are even more extreme than the rhetoric antee its security is by making peace.
used by the Likud led Government. However, things are
changing at the grassroots level. A significant proportion Do you believe that, after recent contacts between the
of Israelis want lasting peace and are tired of this ongoing two, Saudi Arabia could be the third country that Israel
situation. Around 30000 primarily Israeli women recently can make a deal with?
marched to Jericho to demand peace. There are also or- No, I don’t think so at all. Saudi Arabia will not engage
ganisations calling for sanctions against Israel. Moreover, with Israel in a serious manner as long as Israel occupies
Breaking the Silence, a group of Israeli military veterans Arab lands. The Israelis claim they have initiated ties with
who tell what they have seen and done during military Riyadh, but there is no tangible proof of that. Israel also
operations against Palestinians in occupied territories, is claims that the Gulf region is becoming more pro-Israel,
quite active. but reactions from that region, particularly that of the

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