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style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:#333333;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">In
        a wide-ranging interview with Drop Site, the senior Hamas leader
        discusses negotiation strategy, why disarmament is a red line,
        his direct talks with U.S. officials, and more.</div>
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href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=162906434&amp;utm_source=post-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=lvppb&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTYyOTA2NDM0LCJpYXQiOjE3NDY0NzM3MjMsImV4cCI6MTc0OTA2NTcyMywiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.xPI5lZN-nAmUyAHfKP6Yi-hO6PAg2mfaoGXjoO8iGkg"
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                        moz-do-not-send="true">How Hamas Sees the
                        Current Moment: An Exclusive Interview With
                        Osama Hamdan</a></h1>
                    <h3 class="subtitle"
style="font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: normal;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 4px 0 0;color: #777777;line-height: 24px;font-size: 18px;margin-top: 12px;">In
                      a wide-ranging interview with Drop Site, the
                      senior Hamas leader discusses negotiation
                      strategy, why disarmament is a red line, his
                      direct talks with U.S. officials, and more.</h3>
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href="https://substack.com/@jeremyscahill" moz-do-not-send="true">Jeremy
                                                Scahill</a></div>
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datetime="2025-05-05T19:32:47.223Z">May 5, 2025<br>
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                          class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/bcf4a7a4-2679-491b-ad97-c396b8267c35?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
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                            alt="" height="971" width="1456"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;width: 100%;"
                            moz-do-not-send="true"></a><figcaption
                          class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Senior
                          Hamas official Osama Hamdan in his office in
                          the southern suburb of Dahiyeh in Beirut,
                          Lebanon. January 18, 2024. (Photo by Oliver
                          Marsden/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty
                          Images)</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        an </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/d824b55b-3f41-4774-87e7-2684d5c2fe3a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">exclusive interview</a><span>
                        with Drop Site News, a senior Hamas official
                        said that the movement will not capitulate to
                        any demands from Israel or the U.S. to lay down
                        its weapons and vowed that Hamas will reject any
                        temporary ceasefire deal that does not include a
                        clear path to a total Israeli withdrawal from
                        Gaza and an end to the genocide.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cNo
                      need for a short-term ceasefire,\u201d said Osama
                      Hamdan, one of the longest serving senior
                      officials within Hamas. \u201cWhat the Israelis are
                      offering is: We will give you a ceasefire for a
                      short while and then we will come back to kill you
                      again. So what's the idea of giving you food for
                      12, 40 days, two weeks or three weeks, and then
                      coming back to kill you? It means that you endorse
                      the genocide and you accept that for your own
                      people.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">It
                      has been two months since the first phase of the
                      Gaza ceasefire deal, signed in January between
                      Hamas and Israel, came to an end and Israel
                      imposed a full spectrum blockade\u2014the longest in
                      recent history. Since March 2, Israel has
                      prevented all food, water, medicine, fuel, and
                      other supplies from reaching the besieged enclave,
                      plunging Gaza into the worst humanitarian crisis
                      of the 19-month war, according to the UN. On March
                      18, Israel resumed its scorched earth bombing,
                      killing more than 2,400 Palestinians, mostly women
                      and children. During this period, regional
                      mediators Qatar and Egypt have failed to convince
                      Israel to return to the original three-phase
                      framework, which stipulated a complete withdrawal
                      of Israeli forces from Gaza and the declaration of
                      a permanent ceasefire.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Instead,
                      Israel has issued a series of sweeping new demands
                      as a condition for any halt to its genocidal
                      operations. Central among these are the total
                      demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the exiling of
                      Hamas leaders, and the removal of Hamas as the
                      governing authority in Gaza.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cI
                      believe the Israelis don\u2019t believe in any solution
                      with the Palestinians. When they talk about
                      disarming the Palestinians, it's their idea of
                      killing the hope of the Palestinians to be
                      liberated. And then if they want to push them out,
                      the Palestinians will have no way to defend
                      themselves," Hamdan said, referring to Israeli
                      Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s stated plan
                      for a \u201cfinal stage\u201d to the genocide that includes
                      forcibly removing the population from Gaza. \u201cWhen
                      they talk about disarming the Palestinians\u2014not
                      only Hamas, the Palestinians\u2014it means that they
                      want the Palestinians to surrender. And when you
                      surrender, you have to accept the will of the
                      occupier.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      said that Hamas was surprised to witness Egyptian
                      mediators present an Israeli plan that included
                      terms about total demilitarization of Gaza. \u201cWhy
                      were we astonished to see them talking about this
                      issue? Because it's an Israeli issue, and as a
                      mediator, you are not supposed just to admit any
                      suggestion from the Israeli side. You have to deal
                      with that. You have to talk directly to the
                      Israelis [and say], \u2018This will not work,\u2019\u201d Hamdan
                      said. \u201cIf Hamas said we want Netanyahu to hand
                      [over] power and to give up Tel Aviv for the
                      Palestinians, for example, they will directly
                      answer, \u2018This will not happen.\u2019 Why [are they] not
                      talking to the Israelis in the same way?\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      said that Palestinians have both a moral
                      obligation and a legal mandate under international
                      law to employ armed resistance to fight an Israeli
                      occupation that has been repeatedly ruled illegal
                      in international courts and is condemned as a
                      system of apartheid by the world\u2019s leading human
                      rights organizations. \u201cYou can't talk about
                      de-weaponizing the nation who is under occupation,
                      while they are occupied by the most powerful army
                      in the region,\u201d he said. \u201cHamas did not invent the
                      resistance for Palestine. In fact, the
                      Palestinians resisted the British occupation and,
                      since then, the Israeli occupation for decades.
                      Talking about de-weaponizing the Palestinians, it
                      will not solve the problem. The new generation
                      will fight because you are oppressing the nation
                      all the time. So there is no option for the
                      Palestinians to get rid of this occupation without
                      the resistance, no other option.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamas
                      has repeatedly proposed arrangements to end the
                      occupation since the early 1990s, and Israel has
                      rejected them all. Last week, it dismissed Hamas\u2019s
                      most recent offer, which would have seen all
                      Israeli captives in Gaza returned to Israel as
                      part of a multi-year deal. \u201cThey have rejected it
                      and they may reject it another time, but this is
                      also an answer for the international community
                      when they keep asking the Palestinians, \u2018OK, how
                      can we solve the problem?\u2019\u201d Hamdan explained. \u201cYou
                      can't solve the problem by talking about the
                      security of Israel. You have to solve the problem
                      by talking about the rights of the Palestinians
                      who are giving you the option which can fit
                      exactly within international law, with the
                      international resolutions, which can solve the
                      problem and give the Palestinian people their
                      rights.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
                        the interview with Drop Site, Hamdan also
                        outlined Hamas\u2019s rationale for offering a five
                        to seven year truce with Israel, known as a </span><em>hudna</em><span>
                        in Arabic. \u201cThe main goal for this long term </span><em>hudna
                      </em><span>is that each side has to believe that
                        he will not be attacked by the other side, which
                        can at least generate a kind of security. And
                        it's a chance to build trust that there may be a
                        chance for a kind of stability and security,\u201d he
                        said. \u201cThat was the experience, for example, in
                        South Africa; it was the experience in Vietnam;
                        it was the experience with every situation of
                        occupation\u2014not only the Palestinian situation.
                        So we are still committed to a very serious
                        political idea, which is the long-term
                        ceasefire.\u201d</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><strong>Israel
                        Does Not Want the U.S. Talking to Hamas</strong></p>
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href="https://substack.com/redirect/917cb814-f16e-47ef-8980-cc5f15b7c023?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
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                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Senior
                          Hamas official Osama Hamdan in a Hamas
                          regional office against a backdrop of occupied
                          Jerusalem. May 2025. (Photo by Jeremy Scahill)</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Osama
                      Hamdan joined Hamas in 1992, a few years after the
                      group\u2019s founding, and has served as its
                      representative in Iran and Lebanon as well as its
                      chief of international relations. He was one of
                      the top advisers to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,
                      who was assassinated by Israel last summer in
                      Tehran. After October 7, 2023, Hamdan became a
                      regular fixture on Arabic language media,
                      conducting regular press briefings from Lebanon.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
                      the wide-ranging interview, Hamdan said that Hamas
                      believes the January ceasefire agreement would
                      have been unlikely had Donald Trump not won the
                      U.S. election. \u201cI think it helped. If Kamala
                      Harris won the elections, I think it would be the
                      same policy of the Biden administration policy,
                      which supported the Israelis totally\u2026 they [made]
                      themselves as a part of the war and the fight
                      against the Palestinians,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know that
                      the Trump people, they have done a good job in
                      order to make [the January ceasefire] happen. But
                      it's not enough. We have to be honest and serious,
                      it's not enough.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      rejected what he called an Israeli propaganda term
                      to describe what should happen in Gaza after the
                      war ends. \u201cThe Israelis, they have used this \u2018the
                      day after\u2019 term in order to convince everyone that
                      what will happen in Gaza [is] that they will take
                      over the situation within a few weeks and they
                      will get rid of the resistance and there will be
                      an issue of some people who are living on the land
                      of Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a day after the
                      genocide stopped. And this day is supposed to be a
                      Palestinian day, a Palestinian national day,
                      because we have stopped the genocide and we have
                      to decide by ourselves as Palestinians what we are
                      supposed to do.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      said once a political solution is reached to end
                      the genocide, Hamas would be willing to relinquish
                      governance of Gaza to an independent body of
                      Palestinians or a technocratic committee. \u201cThere
                      was a suggestion from the Egyptian side to have a
                      committee of leaders, independent leaders, from
                      Gaza, to take control in Gaza for a while and then
                      we can go to general elections. We've said yes,
                      because if they were nationalist and they are
                      working for Gaza\u2019s benefit and the people\u2019s, why
                      not have them?,\u201d Hamdan said. He added that Hamas
                      and other Palestinian political parties had put
                      forward 40-45 names to the Palestinian Authority
                      as nominees for a 15-member body to assume control
                      of Gaza once Hamas formally steps down. They have
                      not received any answer.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cWe
                      are ready to handle the things to [assist] this
                      committee, knowing that if that was one of the
                      options which can help the Palestinians to get
                      through this massacre and this genocide, it's part
                      of our duty to do that,\u201d Hamdan said, adding that
                      Hamas supports holding democratic elections, not
                      just in Gaza but across all the territories of
                      historic Palestine.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      was one of two Hamas officials who led direct
                      talks with Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy on
                      hostages in late February. \u201cWhen the meetings with
                      Adam Boehler took place, there was a real
                      possibility [for a long term deal]. This is why
                      the Israelis were furious and they were angry,\u201d
                      Hamdan said. \u201cWe've talked about politics, not
                      only about the prisoner exchange issue. And I
                      believe he heard something he didn't expect to
                      hear from Hamas.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      and another senior Hamas official who participated
                      in the direct talks with Boehler described the
                      meetings as productive and diplomatic. They said
                      Boehler seemed genuinely interested in
                      understanding Hamas\u2019s position, both historically
                      and related to the ongoing negotiations. Since
                      those meetings, however, and the launch of an
                      Israeli smear campaign to portray Boehler as
                      having been duped by Hamas, there have been no
                      further direct talks.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cI
                      believe one of the reasons why the Israelis have
                      assassinated some of the Palestinian leaders was
                      because they have the chance to talk directly to
                      the United States,\u201d Hamdan contended. \u201cThey want
                      to prevent any kind of contact between the
                      Palestinian resistance and the United States
                      administration because they have a narrative that
                      those are terrorists.\u201d He said that the direct
                      talks with Boehler and other U.S. officials for
                      the first time circumvented Israeli control of the
                      narrative about Hamas. \u201cThe administration
                      discovered that they are freedom fighters and they
                      have a political narrative and they have a
                      political stand, and they are seeking to have a
                      political solution,\u201d Hamdan said. \u201cThis is what
                      the Israelis are trying to prevent.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
                      the talks, Bohler also raised the issue of Eden
                      Alexander, the dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who
                      enlisted in the Israeli military and was taken
                      captive by Palestinian fighters at the Israeli
                      military base where he was stationed on October 7,
                      2023. "He's an American citizen, but he was a
                      soldier in the Israeli army," Hamdan said. "Why is
                      he allowed to be a fighter or a soldier in another
                      army, not any other army, an army who occupies the
                      Palestinian lands, who was killing the Palestinian
                      people?"</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      added, \u201cYou want to guarantee that no Americans
                      will be held as prisoners because they were
                      soldiers in the Israeli army. So, let's prevent
                      the Israeli army from killing the Palestinians.
                      And that opened the door for a political talk. And
                      I respect that [Boehler] has the courage to talk
                      about this, to listen. He listened carefully.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Last
                      month, the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades,
                      Abu Obeida, said they had lost contact with the
                      group holding Alexander after Israeli airstrikes
                      targeted the area where he was being held. Hamdan
                      and another senior Hamas official told Drop Site
                      that they have not received any updates on
                      Alexander's fate since contact was lost.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      and the other Hamas official told Drop Site that
                      the meetings with Boehler were meant to lead to
                      direct talks with Steve Witkoff, Trump\u2019s special
                      envoy to the Middle East and the administration\u2019s
                      lead negotiator. Hamas believes Israel succeeded
                      in derailing those meetings. \u201cWe expect more from
                      Trump\u2019s administration, not just to keep the
                      security of Israel, not just to listen to the
                      Israeli side. All the world, mainly the United
                      States administration, has to listen to the
                      Palestinians. You have to listen to their side of
                      the story,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can't solve it just by
                      listening to Netanyahu who is lying to his own
                      people, not only lying to the Americans or lying
                      to the Arabs, he's lying [to] his own people.\u201d</p>
                    <div class="pullquote"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;border-top: 1px solid #e6e6e6;border-bottom: 1px solid #e6e6e6;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <h2
style="font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.625em;"><strong><span>LISTEN:
                          </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/d824b55b-3f41-4774-87e7-2684d5c2fe3a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                            rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
                            moz-do-not-send="true">Drop Site\u2019s Full
                            Interview With Senior Hamas Official Osama
                            Hamdan</a></strong></h2>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      also had sharp words for Palestinian Authority
                      President Mahmoud Abbas. In a televised April 23
                      speech before the Palestinian National Council,
                      the 89-year old leader called Hamas \u201csons of
                      dogs,\u201d and demanded the movement surrender its
                      weapons and release the Israeli captives. Hamdan
                      said that for the past 19 months Abbas has been
                      reserved in his denunciations of Israel\u2019s
                      genocidal war while attacking and denouncing the
                      Palestinian resistance. \u201cI believe he lost his
                      credibility as a Palestinian leader and he is not
                      anymore respected by the Palestinians,\u201d Hamdan
                      said. \u201cHe's just destroying his reputation and his
                      image. I don't know how his sons and grandsons
                      will walk among the Palestinian people after his
                      death.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      addressed the Palestinian Authority\u2019s
                      collaboration with Israel in its ongoing assault
                      on the occupied West Bank. He cited the example of
                      the Jenin refugee camp, where Palestinian
                      Authority security forces imposed a siege for 40
                      days, dismantled resistance cells and seized
                      weapons, clearing the way for an Israeli invasion
                      that lead to the destruction of over 600 homes.
                      More than 40,000 Palestinians have been forced
                      from their homes in the West Bank since January,
                      the largest displacement there since 1967. \u201cI
                      think the Israelis, their main goal is to take
                      over all the West Bank,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe they
                      will be mistaken if they felt for a while that the
                      Palestinian Authority will keep controlling the
                      situation. The people will resist.\u201d Hamdan
                      characterized Abbas\u2019s forces as akin to \u201csecurity
                      guards\u201d for the occupation, keeping watch over
                      Palestinians \u201cwho are supposed to live as slaves,\u201d
                      saying, \u201cNo one in the Palestinian Authority is
                      trying to say \u2018enough is enough.\u2019 They don't want
                      to resist.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      also blasted the recent appointment of Hussein
                      Al-Sheikh, a longtime member of Abbas's ruling
                      Fatah Party known for his close ties to Israel, as
                      vice president of the Palestine Liberation
                      Organization, saying it was evidence of Israeli
                      influence. Since 2007, Sheikh has served as the
                      head of the General Authority of Civil Affairs\u2014the
                      main body coordinating with Israeli forces
                      operating in the occupied West Bank. \u201cIf you heard
                      him talking in a closed room, you'd feel that you
                      are talking to an Israeli soldier,\u201d said Hamdan.
                      \u201cThat is not my words. It's the words of some
                      significant leaders of Fatah.\u201d The Israelis pushed
                      for Sheikh\u2019s appointment as Abbas\u2019s deputy and
                      likely successor, Hamdan alleged, because \u201cthey
                      know that he is willing by himself to handle this
                      dirty job on their own behalf.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamas\u2019s
                      official position since 2017 is that it would
                      accept what is commonly referred to as a \u201ctwo
                      state solution\u201d by Western leaders. The movement
                      has said that if the Palestinian people voted for
                      a state along the lines of the borders as they
                      existed prior to the June 1967 war and with East
                      Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, Hamas would
                      not oppose it.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cI
                      think the Israelis have shown that they are not
                      willing to have even the two state solution, and
                      they are talking about what they have called the
                      final solution to get rid of the Palestinians.
                      According to those circumstances, everyone expects
                      this will not happen,\u201d Hamdan said, though he
                      added: \u201cI still think that there is a real
                      possibility for that, if the international
                      community wants to keep the order. Otherwise, I
                      think we will face a complete failure for the
                      international order and this will lead to more
                      complicated consequences, not [only] on the
                      Palestinian situation, but all over the world.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      said that if the world refuses to hold Israel
                      accountable for the Gaza genocide, it will have
                      far reaching implications. \u201cIf they have immunity,
                      it means that others can do the same thing in
                      several places in the world. What if that
                      happened? Some other superpowers, growing
                      superpowers in the world, have given this right to
                      small countries supported by those superpowers,\u201d
                      he said. \u201cI think we will turn the world to a kind
                      of, not a jungle, maybe worse than a jungle,
                      because even in the jungle, the animals, they kill
                      to eat but they don't kill more than this. But
                      when you commit a genocide, it's really a disaster
                      which cannot be explained by words or by saying,
                      \u2018Sorry, I have done this and I will not do it
                      again.\u2019\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><strong>If
                        a Political Solution Fails, the Resistance Will
                        Continue</strong></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      rejected the characterization that Hamas is waging
                      a war against Israel because it is a Jewish state
                      and said this portrayal was aimed at undermining
                      the legitimate cause of liberation and self
                      determination. \u201cWe've said clearly, we are a
                      people under occupation. We are not fighting just
                      because we like to fight or it's a good idea to
                      fight others. We are not fighting the Israelis
                      because, for example, they are Jewish people. We
                      don't have a problem with the Jewish people,\u201d he
                      said. \u201cEven if a Muslim came to occupy my land, I
                      will fight him. It is not related to the religion.
                      It is related to being an occupier or not an
                      occupier.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Despite
                      reports in Israeli and some Arab media outlets
                      that Hamas indicated it would consider temporarily
                      storing its weapons in Gaza or handing them over
                      to a neutral third party, Hamdan said there have
                      been no formal talks about such a proposal. \u201cWhat
                      about the Israeli weapons? Are they going to store
                      their weapons, too? What is the meaning of storing
                      the weapons?\u201d he said. \u201cSuch an experience
                      happened in Northern Ireland. But there was a real
                      political arrangement, which was accepted by both
                      sides.\u201d Short of that, he said, Hamas will not
                      surrender its weapons until Palestinians achieve
                      full statehood. \u201cIf there was a Palestinian state,
                      those weapons would be handed to the Palestinian
                      government,\u201d he said. \u201cEven the [resistance]
                      fighters, they will turn to be part of the army or
                      the police of this government.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Over
                        the weekend, Netanyahu vowed to intensify
                        Israeli attacks in the coming weeks and to
                        expand the army\u2019s ground operations inside Gaza.
                        On Monday, Israel\u2019s cabinet approved a plan to
                        seize large areas of the Gaza Strip where
                        Israeli forces would remain entrenched
                        indefinitely. Code-named Gideon's Chariots, the
                        operations would also reportedly include
                        forcibly displacing Palestinians into small
                        areas of southern Gaza. An Israeli security
                        official </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/435fd517-8ce0-494d-a2b0-045b74c12a96?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">told YNet</a><span> the
                        details of the plan were revealed as a pressure
                        campaign to force Hamas to accept a short term
                        truce agreement that would result in the release
                        of large numbers of Israeli captives without
                        agreeing to end the war.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">These
                      leaked proposals are directly linked to Donald
                      Trump\u2019s scheduled visit to the Middle East slated
                      to begin May 13. Trump will join a series of
                      summits with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
                      and the United Arab Emirates. There are
                      indications the U.S. is pushing Israel to enter
                      into a short-term truce with Hamas to serve as a
                      backdrop for Trump\u2019s trip and Israeli officials
                      said their threats to seize \u201call conquered areas\u201d
                      of Gaza were aimed at forcing Hamas into a deal
                      before Trump\u2019s trip.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
                      the interview with Drop Site, conducted before the
                      Israeli plans were leaked, Hamdan was emphatic
                      that Hamas will not enter into any temporary
                      agreements that do not include a path to a
                      permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from
                      Gaza. \u201cIs the United States administration and
                      President Trump seeking to have just a short-term
                      ceasefire or is he willing to have a permanent
                      ceasefire which may lead to a political solution?\u201d
                      Hamdan said. \u201c[Trump] has to make the choice,
                      whether to make the Israelis accept the long-term
                      ceasefire and to go to the political solution
                      which leads to a Palestinian independent,
                      sovereign state.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      alternative, Hamdan said, is indefinite war that
                      will continue to destabilize the region and impact
                      the rest of Trump\u2019s Middle East agenda. \u201cWe are
                      fighting to be liberated from the occupation. If
                      that can happen in a political way, this is good.
                      We will accept that, if it [happens] in a peaceful
                      way. We don't want to be killed. We don't like to
                      kill others. But if it doesn't happen in this way,
                      we will fight,\u201d Hamdan said. \u201cLet's talk about
                      liberating the Palestinians from the occupation.
                      Let's talk about the Israeli withdrawal from the
                      occupied Palestinian lands,\u201d he added. \u201cThis will
                      be the start of creating confidence and stability
                      after that. If this happened, it will be a very
                      good idea. If it doesn't happen, no one can give
                      up his weapons while he's being killed, tortured,
                      jailed.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">If
                      Trump actually wanted to achieve the release of
                      all Israeli captives and a swift end to the war,
                      Hamdan said, he could utilize the extensive levers
                      of U.S. influence over Netanyahu as Israel\u2019s
                      largest financial benefactor and arms supplier.
                      \u201cIt's not sufficient pressure. They know that they
                      can do that,\u201d he asserted. \u201cIf they said, \u2018OK, we
                      are not providing you with the new weapons,\u2019 I
                      think just saying that, it will show the Israelis
                      that the administration is serious and they have
                      to go to the ceasefire.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Hamdan
                      said that the ultimate responsibility for
                      confronting Israel's apartheid, occupation and war
                      of annihilation against the Palestinian people
                      rests on the international community. And how it
                      handles the fate of Palestine will reverberate for
                      generations to come. "The will of the Palestinians
                      to be liberated is still reserved after 70 years
                      of occupation and it will be until the
                      Palestinians can get rid of the occupation,"
                      Hamdan said. "It will be an important turn, not in
                      the Palestinian history, but I think in
                      international history, because it will express a
                      kind of balanced justice in the world. Otherwise,
                      I think it will be a sign of the end of this
                      international order and who knows what that will
                      lead to."</p>
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                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Drop
                          Site News journalist Jeremy Scahill
                          interviewing senior Hamas official Osama
                          Hamdan in a Hamas regional office. May 2025.
                          (Photo courtesy of Jeremy Scahill)</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em>Drop
                        Site News Middle East Research Fellow Jawa Ahmad
                        contributed to this story.</em></p>
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