Mishaal: Gaza war and UN recognition created a ground for reconciliation

Head of Hamas’s political bureau Khaled Mishaal said on Thursday the UN recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state should be seen alongside Gaza’s latest conflict with Israel as a single, bold strategy that could empower all Palestinians.

In an interview with Reuters in Doha, Mishaal said the Israeli war, which claimed the lives of 162 Palestinians, was concluded on terms set by Hamas Movement and ended its isolation, creating a new mood that could lead to reconciliation with Fatah faction.

He stated that “for the first time a ceasefire was achieved on conditions set by Hamas, and in the presence of the Americans”.

“There is a new Arab presence, there is a different kind of support. Gaza did not seem isolated in this war as it was in the devastating 2008-09 conflict with Israel,” the Hamas official expressed his belief.

He emphasized his approval of the step taken by his Fatah rival Mahmoud Abbas at the UN General Assembly and hoped it could help bridge the rift in the Palestinian arena.

“Diplomatically, this puts the stateless Palestinians on par with The Vatican, but politically it would help ‘unify Palestinian national efforts’ as part of the reconciliation process with Abbas’s Fatah Movement,” Mishaal said.

“I told Abu Mazen (Abbas) that we want this move to be part of a national Palestinian strategy that includes the resistance which excelled in Gaza and gave an example of the ability of the Palestinian people to resist and confront the occupier steadfastly,” the Hamas leader underscored.

“I am optimistic,” Mishaal averred, “there is a new mood that allows us to achieve reconciliation.”

“When we reconcile, unite and end the division and have one political leading authority and one political system, then we will be stronger and better, and we can achieve more, as well as our response to the Israeli aggression in all its forms will be better.”

“As for the Palestinian state we believe it should be on all our Palestinian land… Hamas accepted the establishment of a state within the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return preserved,” he said, “We accepted it but not at the expense that we recognize Israel or give away the Palestinian rights but as a common factor.”

Mishaal said he had no intention to continue as a Hamas leader despite calls on him internally and externally to carry on, and noted that he would pay a visit to the Gaza Strip next week, after years in exile, to mark his Movement’s 25th anniversary.

In a context related to Mishaal’s visit to Gaza, senior Hamas official Salah Al-Bardawil said the Hamas Movement’s anniversary this year would be historic after Mishaal visits Gaza to participate in the event.

Bardawil told Quds Press that all security and political arrangements had been taken to secure the visit of Mishaal.

He added that senior officials and dignitaries from the Arab Spring countries and friends from other countries would attend the anniversary celebrations.