Türkiye’s efforts since the beginning of the war in Gaza are positively influencing both the Palestinian cause as well as the wider region, senior Hamas leader Usamah Hamdan said.
Speaking to Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview, Hamdan said: “Everyone knows that Türkiye is one of the biggest and most important Islamic countries in the OIC as well as the region. The efforts of Türkiye are very important because they have their impact not only on the Palestinian cause but also on the region we live in.”
“There were efforts from Türkiye since the first day on the humanitarian level. But I think the decisions that were made in the last two weeks were important on the political, justice and economic level,” Hamdan pointed out, saying that Türkiye’s moves will affect Israel and have the potential to bring an end to the Israeli attack sooner.
Following the outbreak of the conflict, Türkiye has been trying to facilitate diplomatic channels to push for a cease-fire amid incessant Israeli airstrikes, which killed thousands and destroyed the landscape. Within this scope, Ankara has assured Türkiye is ready to undertake responsibility if a regional security mechanism is established for the conflict and proposed a guarantorship model. Moreover, two weeks ago Ankara announced it ceased trade activities with Israel while joining South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Hamdan reiterated that Türkiye has been supporting the Palestinian cause for decades.
On international support, Hamdan praised Islamic countries in addition to Türkiye for initiating humanitarian support, which spread to the international level.
“Although Western and the U.S. government are supporting the Israeli side, it can be clearly seen that its people are against these policies,” the Hamas leader said further, referring to widespread pro-Palestinian demonstrations within colleges in the U.S. in recent weeks.
Hamdan said that negotiations have been continuing for around four months and “all the time all the obstacles came from the Israeli side and the Israeli government did their best to undermine the process.”
“There were good efforts from the mediators, mainly from the Qataris and the Egyptians, they introduced suggestions for Hamas on the 4th of May and that was accepted from the Hamas side. They said that the Americans were also supporting these suggestions but unfortunately, the Americans could not convince the Israelis so they rejected that proposal. And, instead of giving time for more negotiations, they attacked Rafah and that put the whole negotiations in the situation of the frozen situation.”
The leader said that Hamas would continue efforts to stop the Israeli attack and its army, which he called a “killing machine,” and added that Israel would not be able to reach its goals after this war.
“They will not destroy the resistance in Palestine, we are resisting for 75 years.”
Hamdan also touched upon Western scenarios for a government “the day after Hamas.”
“Everyone knows that no one can create a leadership for the Palestinians unless it was elected by the Palestinians themselves
“I think the Americans have to start thinking about ‘the day after Netanyahu’ not ‘the day after Hamas.’ Because I see that the end of the war will be the collapse of the Israeli government not the collapse of Hamas,” he underlined.
Indicating that the problems among the Israeli government are not new, Hamdan said: “They don’t have a political vision towards the Palestinian cause, they don’t have any kind of willingness to live with the Palestinians. They are willing just to get rid of Palestinians and this genocide is a very big display of that. So, when they start talking about the next day from their point of view, I think the difference is how to do that, how to get rid of the Palestinians, it is not how to accept the presence of the Palestinians as the real owners of the land, the real owners of the state, the real nation in this country.”
Hamdan said that both Netanyahu and Gallant are aware that after the end of the war against Hamas, there will be a collapse of the Israeli government and there will be a new election in Israel. “So, everyone is seeking to have more votes on behalf of the blood of Palestinians.”
He said that the current policy included covering the massacre in Rafah from the eyes of international media. “They are closing the doors against the media, they are preventing the media from covering that. But I believe they will not have any success on the level of their goals.”
New divisions have emerged among Israel's leaders over post-war Gaza's governance. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to rule out an Israeli government in Gaza after the war. Netanyahu’s outright rejection of post-war Palestinian leadership in Gaza has broken wide open a rift among top politicians and also frustrated relations with its top ally the United States.
Washington has previously called for a "revitalized" form of the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after the war.
Meanwhile, War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz called for the formation of an "American, European, Arab and Palestinian administration that will manage civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip."
On the potential of whether an international force or a U.N. force would be on the table following the end of the war for administrating security in the Gaza Strip, Hamdan said: “We have tried that. We have tried that in Hebron a few years ago and they did nothing. They were just watching what was happening, they could not even criticize Israel, the killings were among the Palestinians, the Israelis were untouchable, so what is the benefit of that?”
The Hamas leader reiterated that there are U.N. resolutions that accept the 1967 borders of Palestine and urge Israel to withdraw. The international community should press Israel to follow these resolutions in the first place, he said.
“So, if the international community is willing to do something, they have to start from the main point – make an end to the occupation. This is the problem.”
Being asked about the U.S.-built pier off the Gaza Strip, Hamdan said that the move aims to satisfy internal criticism within the U.S.
“I think it is something related to the American administration because they are facing a tough situation in the elections. So, they want to show a humanitarian face for the U.S. administration. In fact, at the most, they can use it for less than 100 trucks a day,” Hamdan elaborated, comparing it to the Rafah border gate which allows for 1,000 trucks a day.
“So, it is not of highly important use for the Palestinians, they want it for their own purposes. But, as Palestinians, we welcome any support for our nation.”
Aid groups say Israel's Rafah incursion, launched despite overwhelming international opposition and as mediators were hoping for a breakthrough in stalled truce talks, has worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis.
With key land crossings closed or operating at limited capacity because of the fighting, some aid began entering Gaza via the temporary floating pier.
The Rafah crossing, a vital conduit for humanitarian aid, has been closed since Israel launched its operation in the city.
