Published On 1/12/2025
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Last update: 03:44 (Mecca time)
Member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Hossam Badran, said that any international force that may be deployed in the Gaza Strip must have a mission limited exclusively to monitoring the ceasefire and separating Palestinian civilians from the occupation forces.
Badran stressed – in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher – that transforming these forces into an alternative to the occupation army or a tool to fight the Palestinians is “inapplicable and will further complicate the scene.”
Badran said that the Palestinian factions, including the Fatah movement, presented a unified position in Cairo regarding international forces, stressing that the Palestinian position is based on protecting civilians and stopping aggression and not legitimizing any new external military presence.
He pointed out that the agreement was reached “after the world was fed up with the behavior of the occupation, including the American administration that supports it.”
The Hamas leader added that stopping the daily genocide in Gaza was a primary goal of Hamas, despite the ongoing violations.
Badran stressed that the resistance dealt with “political wisdom and realism” and that a national consensus and an Arab and Islamic incubator supported this path.
He also said, “We are the owners of the rights and the land, and the world must direct the compass toward the occupation, not toward the victim.”
Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, and with American sponsorship, and the first phase of the agreement entered into force on October 10.
The Israeli war of genocide on the Gaza Strip left more than 70,000 martyrs and about 171,000 wounded Palestinians, most of them children and women, in addition to widespread destruction. The United Nations estimated the cost of reconstruction at about 70 billion dollars.
Hamas militants in Rafah
Regarding the issue of the resistance fighters stranded outside the “yellow line” in Rafah, Badran revealed that Hamas engaged in arduous negotiations with mediators to reach a solution that would preserve the lives of the resistance fighters, but the occupation presented “impossible conditions and repeatedly retreated from them.”
He explained that the demand to surrender and hand over weapons was raised during some rounds, but was met with a categorical rejection by Hamas, stressing that “the mujahideen in the field cannot accept this option.”
Badran accused the Israeli army of trying to exploit the issue to obtain an “image of victory” after two years of war. He said that the occupation was the one that began attacking and targeting the fighters in Rafah, stressing that they “represent Gaza and the dignity of the Palestinian people, regardless of the sacrifices.”
Yesterday, Sunday, the Israeli occupation army announced that it had killed more than 40 militants during raids and bombings that targeted tunnels in the Rafah area (south of the Gaza Strip) during recent days.
“Systematic escalation in the West Bank”
In the occupied West Bank, Badran said that the Israeli occupation continues to carry out a “systematic escalation” since the start of the war on Gaza, referring to the recent military operations in Tubas and the northern West Bank, and the previous incursions into Tulkarm, Jenin and Nablus.
He said that what is happening reveals “the falsehood of the Israeli narrative that links its crimes to the events of October 7th,” explaining that the West Bank did not participate in the October 7th attack, but the occupation continues to kill, confiscate, and geographically divide it.
The Hamas leader indicated that this stage requires a unified Palestinian position, and that Hamas is conducting contacts with various forces to find mechanisms to protect the people from attacks by settlers and occupation forces.
Badran stressed that the resistance “will continue to defend its people with all its capabilities” and that the Palestinians will pay prices, but in the end “they will obtain their rights, no matter how long it takes.”
The occupation forces withdrew from Tubas in the northern West Bank after a military operation that lasted 4 days, during which they raided Palestinian homes and destroyed their contents. The operation also resulted in the injury of more than 166 Palestinians. While the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club recorded about 200 cases of detention, the occupation released most of them earlier, according to the official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa).
The relationship with the Palestinian Authority
Regarding the relationship with the Palestinian Authority, Badran said that there is no rupture, and referred to meetings that took place in Cairo with Hussein Al-Sheikh, Vice President of the Palestinian Authority, and Majed Faraj, Head of Palestinian Intelligence, and discussions about national challenges and ways to confront them.
But the leader of the Hamas movement added that the problems lie in the implementation mechanisms and unifying the Palestinian position.
Badran stressed that the Authority and the Fatah movement are an influential component, and that Hamas is keen to reach a minimum understanding in the face of the occupation.
He said that the Palestinians are being targeted at the level of geography and all components, and not Hamas alone, noting that the Trump plan and Security Council resolutions excluded the Authority from any role in Gaza, which confirms that the Israeli project aims to liquidate the entire Palestinian issue.