Hamas political deputy claims West Bank will not put up with PA much longer

The deputy leader of Hamas’s political bureau, Dr Mousa Abu Marzouk, has claimed that the Palestinians living in the Occupied West Bank “will not be patient for long with the Ramallah Authority’s system of administering the affairs of the territory”. These include, said Dr. Abu Marzouk, the PA’s “practices that are a historic deviation from the Palestinian revolution amid the absence of any political progress; the major shutdown of negotiations and even the shutdown of the future vision of how to deal with the issue as a whole”.

During a lengthy dialogue conducted on the Arab Future website and published in full by the Palestinian Information Centre, Dr. Abu Marzouk stressed that what he called the “dictatorship of the security forces and their service to the occupation” are some of “the most provocative factors for the Palestinians”. He noted that both the first and second Palestinian uprisings proved the ability of the people to take control of matters away from the official authority.

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With regard to the anticipated next Israeli war against the Gaza Strip, Abu Marzouk is of the opinion that it will be apparent before it happens, through Israel’s domestic preparations, diplomatic activity and the call-up of military reservists and troop movements. As such, he said, Israel’s aggression will not be a total surprise. “It may not be possible to say specifically when the assault will begin, but the signs will be there and they won’t be open to interpretation; the issue will be far clearer than on the previous occasion.”

He added, “Whoever thinks we are preparing for Israel’s next assault on the Gaza Strip without possessing the necessary tools is mad. We are using every possible means to obtain defensive capabilities so that we can resist the occupation forces. And we will resist them when they cross the border.” Abu Marzouk confirmed his belief that the Israelis will emerge from the next war in a far grimmer state than they did at the end of “Operation Cast Lead”.

When asked about the possibility of Israel launching a war on two fronts simultaneously, Abu Marzouk said, “I don’t expect Israel to do that; any student of Israeli politics knows that the Zionists do not fight on two fronts at any one time.” When Israel was obliged to fight on two fronts in 1973, he pointed out, it fought Egypt and ignored Syria until American supplies arrived. Only then, he said, did Israel move its forces to the Syrian front. With regard to statements made by Azzam al-Ahmed, who talked of Gaza being returned “by force”, Abu Marzouk said that the Fatah official responsible for dialogue “should encourage Israel to launch a new war against Gaza” if that’s what he believes.

Addressing the issue of national reconciliation, Abu Marzouk confirmed that there is no use in repeating past mistakes: “I believe that if any future discourse on reconciliation does not proceed from the basis of a partnership between the Palestinian people as a whole and without exception, then we will not achieve a substantial result. We demand the participation of all Palestinian groups and activists so that discussions are inclusive. The influence of one or two groups on the future of all Palestinians is no longer acceptable.”

According to Dr. Abu Marzouk, Hamas welcomed the toppling of the Tunisian president Ben Ali: “We welcomed the Tunisian revolution because it adds new weight to the Palestinian cause; the closer a government regime is to the nation and its feelings, to the people and their desires and aspirations, the more the Palestinian issue rises on the scale of priorities, with increased clarity and validity across the Arab and Islamic world.” He confirmed that the Tunisian revolution will open the way for the establishment of fresh relations between Hamas and other Arab states.

On Hamas’s policy for dealing with Arab states in general, Abu Marzouk mentioned that the Islamic Resistance Movement accepts whatever Arab states can give, including any help and support for the Palestinian people, without reflecting in any negative way on the relationship. He stressed that Hamas is working to consolidate all positive aspects of relationships with Arab states, no matter how small, in order to maximise them.

Finally, with regards to US and EU dealing with Hamas, Abu Marzouk said, “It has become abundantly clear that those who wished to isolate Hamas from the Palestinian issue, including the United States, have realised the error of this policy.” This, he claimed, is what is being circulated within the US administration, with analysts saying that it is “impossible to isolate Hamas from the Palestinian issue”. As a result, he said, “However long it may take they have no alternative but to engage with Hamas if they really are sincere about peace with justice.”

Source: Damascus – The Palestinian Information Centre

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