Index – Foreign – Hamas announced: they would lay down their arms if the two-state solution is realized

According to Halil al-Hajja, a high-ranking Hamas political official, the organization is willing to lay down its arms and transform into a traditional political party if the two-state solution is realized, reports MTI.

A member of the terrorist organization announced in an interview with the American news agency AP that the Islamist armed group is willing to agree to a five-year or longer ceasefire with Israel.

Since its establishment, Hamas has refused to recognize the State of Israel until now.
Hajja, who represented Hamas during the negotiations on the ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners, also spoke about the organization’s desire to join the rival Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization, through which it wants a unified government in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Palestinian leader also mentioned that Hamas accepts “the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with international resolutions”, along Israel’s pre-1967 borders. He stated that if this happens, the military wing of the group will disband.

Experience shows that when those who fought against the invaders won their own state, their rights and became independent, what did they do? They became a political party and their armed forces were transformed into a national army

– said Hajja.

Despite all this, Hamas’s official political program still states that the organization “rejects any solution other than the complete liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea,” meaning the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel and the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah have not yet responded to Hajja’s words. After the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, the Israeli leadership vowed to deal with Hamas once and for all.

Regarding the war, Hajja said that Israel had destroyed no more than 20 percent of Hamas’ capabilities “in terms of human life and warfare.” “If they can’t finish us off, what’s the solution? We have to agree,” he insisted.

According to the Hamas leader, the organization does not know exactly how many Israeli hostages are still alive in the Gaza Strip, but it does not give up on demanding the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting ceasefire in exchange for their release.

“If there is no guarantee that the war will end, why hand over the prisoners?” – asked Hajja, and then went on to say that Hamas is not willing to tolerate any other armed presence in the zone, neither on land nor at sea, except for the Palestinians, and considers all such forces as invaders.

(Cover photo: Palestinian fighters near the border in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2023. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

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