Osama Hamdan: The occupation’s escalation in the West Bank aims to deport two million Palestinians to Jordan | Politics

Osama Hamdan, a leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said that Israel was planning to deport two million Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan, and that this project is very dangerous not only for the Palestinians, but for the entire region, and that a new front of resistance has begun in the West Bank.

In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Hamdan denied previous Israeli army confirmations about the assassination of the commander-in-chief of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad al-Deif, and said that he was fine and still at work and performing his role as a leader of the resistance.

He stressed that there are no direct negotiations with the United States in isolation from Israel, and said, “We heard in the media that there is American talk about a direct deal with Hamas, but until now there has been nothing practical. The Americans have not contacted us directly, nor have they sent anything of the sort through mediators.”

He also touched on the criteria on the basis of which Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar as head of its political bureau, and denied that this choice came in response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, “because it was not done in an individual, self-interested manner.”

To the details of the dialogue..

• Why is Israel escalating its operations in the West Bank now?

Israel has long bet on its success in eliminating the Palestinian resistance capacity in the West Bank, and after that it entered a new phase of greed to deport two million Palestinians to Jordan, and this is a dangerous project not only for the Palestinians but for the entire region, because deporting a human mass of this size from Palestine to any place in the world means that any brutal force in the world can deport whomever it wants.

These Israeli bets arose as a result of the accumulation of confrontations with the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank, and in light of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, the surprise was completely the opposite for the Israelis, and a resistance action was launched that greatly exceeded the stages of origin and development, and took a qualitative leap.

The West Bank that the occupation wants to empty of its population in favor of settlements is the one that will drive nails into its coffin

I believe that the large-scale Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank will not succeed in undermining this act of resistance, and I say very clearly that the coming days will reveal a reality in the West Bank that will be completely different from what the occupation wants, and that the West Bank that the occupation wants to empty of its population in favor of settlement is the one that will drive the nails into its coffin.

• Will the resistance open a new front in the West Bank?

The front has already begun, and we are now talking about the escalation of operations. What the occupation did in Jenin is not to eliminate the resistance, but rather to focus its efforts on brutalizing the Palestinian civilian infrastructure, and this is a clear indication that it expresses an inability to confront the resistance or eliminate it.

This is the same mentality of Israel in its brutality against the Palestinians, and the same method that is taking place in Gaza, but the result that will arise from this is that the occupation is building an additional wall of blood between it and the Palestinian people, and many of the children and youth who saw its brutality today as observers will be fighters in the ranks of the resistance tomorrow, God willing.

Muhammad al-Daif is fine and still at work, performing his role as a resistance leader. All the rumors that were spread did not push him back, and he is still in his position, performing his role with his brothers.

• Did Israel succeed in assassinating Mohammed Deif as it claims?

The Israelis talked about it, and as a movement we declare that if we have martyrs, then for a person to attain martyrdom is not a shame, nor a disaster, nor a loss; this is a battle in which there is jihad, martyrdom, and victory.

If Israel wanted to wage psychological warfare, we respond to that by saying that our brother Abu Khaled (Mohammed Deif) is fine and is still at work and performing his role as a leader of the resistance. All the rumors that were spread did not push him back, and he is still in his position performing his role with his brothers. Despite the passage of more than 330 days of fighting, neither he nor his soldiers have lost their resolve nor has their will wavered.

• What criteria was Yahya Sinwar elected as the head of Hamas?

In Hamas, we have standards included in the movement’s internal regulations and conditions that must be met by any leader, including those related to age, the organizational roles he has held, and his organizational history free of problems or blemishes.

There are also unwritten criteria, such as the person being generally accepted within the movement and in the general Palestinian national environment. You cannot choose a person to lead the movement who is in conflict with his general environment or the society in which he lives.

As for Brother Yahya Sinwar, he played an important role in the Palestinian reconciliation that led to the 2021 elections that were disrupted by the occupation. Therefore, he has his position in the movement’s internal environment and his acceptance in the national environment.

Another factor that led to his unanimous election was his position in leading the battle and his presence in the front row in this battle with the occupation. He was the political leader of the Gaza Strip, and thus his role in this battle is clear and his mark is clear.

The general environment in the movement does not involve a struggle over who will be the movement’s leader, but rather a search for the most suitable and appropriate person in this time frame, and agreement was reached on him.

The Israelis will understand that assassinating a leader in the movement will not lead to a retreat, but rather another leader will come who will build on what came before, and hurt them more.

• Wasn’t his election at this time a response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran?

We will not deal with the issues in a personal, vengeful manner. Brother Yahya Sinwar is a member of the movement’s leadership, and he is a leader in Gaza. He has played many previous roles. It is natural that after the martyrdom of Abu al-Abed (Ismail Haniyeh), a person will be elected who the Israelis understand from his election that he is capable of continuing, that the movement will maintain its strategic paths, and that the new leader will not retreat, but will move forward and build on what his predecessors built.

The Israelis will understand that assassinating a leader in the movement will not lead to a retreat, but rather another leader will come who will build on what came before, and will hurt them more.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin had previously been martyred, and after him Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi took over, then the movement was led for a long period of time by brother Abu al-Walid Khaled Meshaal, then brother Ismail Haniyeh came, and the path was escalating and advancing, and we believe that Sinwar, God willing, and with the help of his brothers, will push the movement forward as well.

• Is there a direct deal between Hamas and the United States, away from Israel?

We heard in the media that there is American talk about a direct deal with Hamas, but until now there has been nothing practical. The Americans have not contacted us directly, nor have they sent anything of the sort through intermediaries.

But I think that raising this issue in the American media is an expression of anger at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a loss of confidence in him. He does not want to reach a deal that leads to the release of the prisoners as much as he wants to prolong the battle, and what that means in terms of additional losses in the lives of these prisoners.

• What’s new in the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip?

The ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip do not need new initiatives to negotiate them, because all previous projects failed due to the lack of a guarantee that Israel would accept them, so why search for a new project that there is no guarantee that Netanyahu will accept?

The United States is also not exerting real pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister to accept the American proposals that Hamas has already announced its approval of.

• Is America able to exert this pressure?

The American position has very wide options for means of pressuring Israel, and it is enough for them to say to Netanyahu: We will stop sending weapons, or we will stop economic support, we will not cover your position politically. All of these are issues that could simply lead to a change in the Israeli position.

The pressure exerted by the Palestinians on the ground is still ongoing, exhausting the occupation army and sending a message to Netanyahu that the results of the battle will not be as he wants. There is also the political movement that we aspire to on the regional level that could have an impact on the Israeli side.

The prisoners will not return alive except within the framework of a ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange.

• Is Hamas able to protect the prisoners in its hands until the end of the battle?

The prior preparation was based on this, and the brothers in the Qassam Brigades prepared what would help them achieve this goal, and the success in keeping a large number of prisoners in the grip of the resistance so far is an indication of good preparation in this regard.

Now the occupation has succeeded in extracting bodies, and perhaps retrieving 4 of the living, but it is clear that “Al-Qassam” is still mastering this role and preserving these prisoners, and as we said, these prisoners will not return alive except within the framework of a ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange.

• After 11 months of continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, what is your assessment of Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, especially with this large number of victims?

The comparison between the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, 2023 and the number of martyrs who fell victim to the Israeli aggression is not a correct comparison, because the comparison is the nature of this occupation, its crimes and what it is doing to the Palestinian people, and this genocide that is being committed in the Gaza Strip today confirms one basic thing: without resistance, the Palestinian people cannot be liberated, and without resistance, Israel will not retreat backwards.

Therefore, “October 7” is the result of 75 years of occupation, and the result of a strategic Israeli project aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause, and the massacres being committed now are an attempt to regain the Israeli initiative.

The whole world has come to realize today that the problem is in Israel, and that the solution is for the Palestinians to have their own independent, sovereign state, regardless of the different points of view now about this state, its area and borders, and other than that, things cannot be stable. This shift in the political reality was made by “October 7th”, while the current genocide was made by Israel’s history, which is full of massacres against the Palestinian people from 1948 until today.

The resistance emerged from the fabric of the Palestinian people, and did not separate from it. It created within it an environment of resistance consisting of the son, the brother, and the sibling.

• Is the home front able to bear this cost after about a year of killing, destruction and siege?

Those who ask this question are divided into two groups: one group that loves us and the other group that hates us or hates Palestine.

• I do not care much to respond to the hateful group, but I tell them that the state of steadfastness shown by the Palestinian people has undoubtedly angered the Israelis, and has undoubtedly exceeded all expectations, and this is a clear message that the will of resistance in the Palestinian people is not related to a party, faction, force, or military wing, but rather is related to the Palestinian people as a whole.
• As for the lovers, I tell them that the internal front is cohesive, but it is looking to those who support it from the sons of the nation so that its performance will be higher and in a better manner and to put more pressure on the occupation.

There are clear elements of cohesion of the internal front in the sector, including:

1. The Palestinian people have been committed to their cause for nearly 75 years. Fathers pass the cause on to their sons and then to their grandchildren, despite the harsh conditions and horrors that this people have experienced.
2. This people linked themselves and their cause with God, and thus a state of faith, certainty and submission developed within them, which prompted them to work more to achieve the goal, which is liberation.
3. The resistance emerged from the fabric of the Palestinian people, and did not separate from it. It created within it an environment of resistance consisting of the son, the brother, and the sibling.
4. The resistance targeted the occupation army that oppresses the people, and then the Palestinian people saw it as a symbol of revenge for the crimes committed against them.
5. The resistance knows today that it is better than yesterday, and it learns in the field how to develop its performance and embrace its people who always rally around it.
6. The resistance focused its battle on its goals against the occupation and did not get carried away in side battles that would arouse a lot of anger and sensitivities against it.

• Are there steps to restore relations with the Palestinian Authority in order to build Palestinian unity?

In the first week of the battle, we launched a political initiative related to determining the priorities, paths, and mechanisms for joint Palestinian national action. This led to numerous dialogues, and perhaps the culmination of them was the recent Beijing meeting that brought together the factions, and a memorandum of understanding was signed, and we established a clear mechanism for implementation.

These understandings aim to form a national consensus government that will manage all Palestinian areas in Gaza and the West Bank, and will have two basic tasks:

1. Reconstructing Gaza and addressing the effects of war.
2. Calling for general Palestinian elections to choose a National Council, a Legislative Council, and a Palestinian presidency that will put the Palestinian internal house in order.

• Is Hamas ready to hand over power in the Gaza Strip to this government?

We agreed in Beijing that there would be a national unity government that would manage all affairs in Gaza and the West Bank. We do not need to hand over to anyone or have anyone hand over to us. This is a national unity government that manages everything, and the administrative structures and institutions are in place.

• Will Hamas participate in this government?

We will certainly participate in it. We will be concerned with the government being formed correctly, and with the participation of all factions. We will participate in it if we agree that it will include national figures, and we will contribute to naming these figures. What is important to us is that this government be agreed upon by everyone, and its goals be clear and specific, and the timetable be specific according to what we have agreed upon.

We have to focus on our goal, which is to liberate Palestine, not to coexist with the occupation. Whoever wants to coexist with it must realize that the occupation will not last.

• But there are statements made by some members of the Palestinian Authority that undermine the resistance policy in confronting the occupation?

This disagreement exists, and it is a clear political disagreement that we do not hide. Its reason is that there is a group that believes that negotiating with the occupation can bring about rights, and there is a second group that says that it is the resistance that brings about rights, and the scene of the current battle proves the validity of the theory of the second group.

Netanyahu stood before two press conferences displaying the Palestinian map, in which there was no West Bank. In his last speech before the United Nations General Assembly, he said with all “impudence” that the land from the sea to the river can only accommodate one state, meaning Israel. For us, too, it can only accommodate one state, which is Palestine, the land of Palestine, and the people of Palestine.

Today, in light of this battle, we are not about to stop at some statements that I see as wrong and do not serve our battle with the occupation. We must focus on our goal, which is to liberate Palestine and not to coexist with the occupation. Whoever wants to coexist with it must realize that the occupation will not last.