Hamas ready to disband in the event of an independent Palestinian state

The Islamic militant group Hamas is ready to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel. It will disarm and transform into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along the pre-1967 borders, a senior Hamas political official said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Khalil al-Haya’s comments in an interview with the AP on Wednesday came amid a stalemate in ceasefire talks. The proposition that “Hamas’ will disarm is a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to the destruction of Israel.

But it is unlikely that Israel who vowed to crush Hamas after the October 7 cross-border attack, to consider such a scenario. The current Israeli leadership is firmly opposed the creation of a Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War.

Speaking to the AP in Istanbul, Al-Haya said that Hamas wants to join the Palestine Liberation Organizationled by the rival Fatah faction, to form a unity government for Gaza and the West Bank. He said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with international resolutions” along Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

If that happens, he says, the military wing of the group will disband.

“The whole experience of the people who fought against the occupiers, when they became independent and got their rights and their country, what did these forces do? They became political parties and their defense forces have become a national army,” he said.

Over the years, Hamas has softened its public stance on the possibility of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but its political agenda still officially “rejects any alternative to the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea” – refers to the area reaching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the lands that now make up Israel.

Al-Haya did not say whether his apparent acceptance of a two-state solution would mean an end to the Palestinian conflict with Israel or an intermediate step toward the group’s stated goal of destroying Israel.

The Palestinian Authority hopes to create an independent state in the West BankEast Jerusalem and Gaza – areas captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War. While the international community overwhelmingly supports such a two-state solution, the hardline government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects it.

Israel is now preparing for an offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians have fled.

Israel claims to have disbanded most of the original Hamas battalions since the start of the war, but that the other four are hiding in Rafah. Israel also claims that the Rafah offensive is necessary to achieve victory over Hamas.

Al-Haya says such an offensive will fail to destroy Hamas. He says contacts between the political leadership outside and the military leadership in Gaza have been “continuous” since the war and “contacts, decisions and instructions are made after consultation” between the two groups.

Israeli forces ‘did not destroy more than 20% of Hamas capabilities’, neither humanly nor on the battlefield,” he assured. “If they cannot finish off Hamas, what is the solution? The solution is to reach a consensus.”

In November, a week-long ceasefire led to the release of more than 100 hostages in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. But negotiations for a longer-term truce and release of the remaining hostages they are currently at a standstill, with each side accusing the other of intransigence. Key interlocutor Qatar has said in recent days it is undertaking a “reassessment” of its role as a mediator.

Al-Haya also indirectly threatened that Hamas would attack Israeli or other forceswhich may be located around a floating pier which The US is trying to build along the coast of Gazato deliver aid by sea.

“We categorically reject any non-Palestinian presence in Gazawhether by sea or land, and we will deal with any military force present in those places, Israeli or otherwise … as an occupying force,” he said.

Al-Haya said Hamas does not regret the October 7 attacks. despite the destruction they inflicted on Gaza and its people. He denied that Hamas fighters targeted civilians during the attacks – despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary – and said that the operation succeeded in its goal of drawing the world’s attention to the Palestinian issue.

And, he says, Israel’s efforts to root out Hamas will ultimately fail to prevent future Palestinian armed insurgencies.

Gallant: Israel destroyed Hezbollah command in southern Lebanon

Half of the Hezbollah commanders in South Lebanon have been eliminated, and the other half are in hiding and leaving South Lebanon