Hamas leader: ‘For 76 years, the Palestinians have not surrendered’

The following statement comes from Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan to Al-Jazeera on Sept. 2, 2024, and published by Resistance News Network.

There is nothing new except what we hear in the media and what is being discussed with mediators about the U.S. president’s intention to present a new proposal. However, it is clear that the U.S. administration has largely been a partner to the occupation in all the acts of genocide committed in Gaza. 

They have not exerted appropriate pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and his government and have facilitated the continuation of this crime through political, military, security and economic support. They have not done what is required of them to ensure compliance with the initiatives that have been presented. 

The U.S. talk of presenting an initiative is an attempt to absorb the anger resulting from the failure of “israel” and the U.S. and another attempt to buy time to give Netanyahu more opportunities to kill the Palestinian people. What is needed is not a new initiative; what is needed is to compel Netanyahu to adhere to what was presented and agreed upon by the resistance on July 2. 

This is the solution, not more negotiations with no horizon. Netanyahu was clear and explicit that he would not accept any new initiatives during his press conference yesterday. The Philadelphia issue is a problem, because Netanyahu is making it one. It would be sufficient for the Americans to say that they adhere to the document that was presented and accepted by the resistance, which included withdrawal from the Philadelphia corridor. 

We have made our position clear: the Philadelphia corridor is a joint Egyptian-Palestinian border, and we do not accept the presence of a third party on it. The “israeli” presence that Netanyahu wants is for dominance and control over the Rafah crossing, which would continue the siege on the Palestinian people, and we do not accept any form of siege. 

We informed the parties early on that if there is not a complete withdrawal from Philadelphia, we cannot accept any arrangement that allows the occupation to remain there. Perhaps the U.S. president made an important statement when he said that Netanyahu bears responsibility for the killing of the six prisoners. 

Today, the stance of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry was significant in affirming that Egypt rejects the use of its name in Netanyahu’s schemes that aim to keep the crisis ongoing. He refuses to approach any solution offered to him or respond to it. 

Our position is clear: the Philadelphia corridor is part of the Gaza withdrawal process, which was fundamentally agreed upon to conclude the agreement that includes a ceasefire, full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange. 

If the U.S. administration overlooks the full withdrawal from the Philadelphia Corridor, they are practically throwing Netanyahu a lifeline to continue the killings and saving him from the backlash over the killing of the six prisoners, for which he and his Nazi government are responsible, as well as the killing of the prisoners before them.

A clear set of demands

Everyone knows that Gaza is densely populated, the most densely populated area in the world. The U.S. statements about partial withdrawal from densely populated areas is a suspicious use of terminology, aiming to suggest that the few kilometers-small areas left unoccupied may serve as an opportunity for “israel” to advance. 

There is one clear solution: A proposal was presented to the movement on May 5, which the movement accepted, but Netanyahu rejected it. A new proposal was made at the end of June, which the movement accepted on July 2, and Netanyahu rejected it again. 

The U.S. administration’s talk of new ideas indicates that they do not want to reach a solution, and the future of the remaining prisoners will remain uncertain, because it is clear that the prisoners were either killed by “israeli” airstrikes, shot directly by “israeli” bullets or during the clashes as happened in Al-Nusseirat. 

The idea of retrieving the prisoners under “israeli” conditions is impossible. The U.S. administration and “israel” must realize that the prisoners will only be returned if the aggression stops and the occupation fully withdraws from the Gaza Strip. 

The message of the resistance is clear: in response to the occupation’s behavior — its continued bombing, killing and attempts to commit massacres to recover some prisoners — it is actually leading to the deaths of its own captives instead of rescuing them. By doing this, the fate of these prisoners remains unknown. 

The resistance’s message is clear: there will be no recovery of captives except through a negotiated deal; otherwise, they will return in coffins, and some might face the same fate as Ron Arad. It is clear that the “israeli” military pressure each time disrupts the negotiation process and leads to the killing of more “israeli” captives held by the resistance, not the other way around. 

Since the beginning of the negotiations, the resistance has maintained clear negotiation rules, a clear set of demands and has not made any concessions, while also showing flexibility in areas where solutions could be found. Netanyahu’s press conference yesterday was a desperate attempt to avoid responsibility, which he and his government bear alone, for the killing of those hostages. 

The narrative presented by “israel” is consistent with the lies that began on October 7 and continue to this day. Netanyahu’s insistence on the Philadelphia Corridor, despite opposition from security and military agencies, who told him there was no need to remain there, confirms that Netanyahu has never sought nor wants to seek a ceasefire or a serious prisoner exchange. 

Yesterday’s press conference reveals Netanyahu’s intentions, and it is time for the world to treat him as a war criminal committing genocide. Netanyahu was blatantly talking about the extermination of the Palestinian people, thinking he could replicate Hitler’s attempt to exterminate every breath of freedom in Europe. Netanyahu will face the same fate of defeat by committing the same folly. 

The only option left for the Palestinian people, if the aggression continues, is to defend themselves, because the other option Netanyahu offers is surrender. After this long period of confrontation and resistance, the Palestinian people cannot raise the flag of surrender. For 76 years, the Palestinians have not surrendered.

Resistance escalates in West Bank

Netanyahu knows that the ongoing battle in Gaza has not extinguished the Palestinian people’s steadfastness and resistance, and today it is intensifying in the West Bank. If things continue as they are, I believe the situation will escalate to a point where neither Netanyahu nor his supporters can contain it. 

The only way to stop this aggression is for Netanyahu to accept the initiative presented and approved by the [Hamas] movement. Otherwise, the world must see that the “israelis” are overstepping their bounds, and there must be a complete and decisive stop to the aggression. 

The Palestinians are doing their part in defending themselves, putting the entire world in front of a significant question regarding the seriousness of the world in stopping the ongoing genocide. Today I compare the world’s outcry over the killing of six “israeli” captives — whom we wanted to return alive so that our prisoners could return to their families — to the world’s silence over the massacre of 50,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, as if nothing happened. 

Are the lives of six “israeli” captives more valuable to the world than the lives of 50,000 Palestinians? This raises questions about all the humanitarian values, the values of freedom, justice, equality and human rights that some claim to uphold but only cry out for when the victim is “israeli.” 

The enemy clearly intends to declare the West Bank a battlefield, and the map Netanyahu presented did not include the West Bank and Al-Quds but rather depicted the entirety of Palestine as part of the occupation entity. 

This means that the plan Netanyahu and his government devised to seize the West Bank is still entrenched in the minds of this government, and they are committed to it. Declaring the West Bank a battlefield means that he has failed to eliminate the resistance, which he thought he could succeed in within hours or maybe a day or two. 

The military operation in the northern West Bank was not expected by “israel” to last as long as it has or for the resistance to perform so effectively. Moreover, they did not expect the resistance to mobilize in other parts of the West Bank as happened in Al-Khalil. The West Bank is now mobilizing, and resistance is escalating and advancing. 

The crime “israel” is committing by declaring the West Bank in a state of war does not necessarily mean the fighting will stop. I recall that during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, everything “israel” did did not stop the resistance; instead, it accelerated and led to the withdrawal of the occupation from Gaza. Perhaps the confrontation in the West Bank will also push for additional withdrawals in this phase.