For Hamas there is no substitute for menacing and murderous resistance; negotiations are only a façade.

By Dr. Peter Wandwasi
Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg

While Hamas vows never to recognise the legitimacy and existence of the Jewish state, the State of Israel is not going to vanish. Any future international negotiating efforts to reach an agreement resulting in a two-state solution necessitates either Hamas sits not at the negotiating table or no longer exists. Its actions and positions preclude its participation.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict enlists historical complexity and has become a contemporary subject of heated intellectual debate amongst scholars here in Africa. However, factoring in the dimension of Hamas into this historical complexity adds a new spin for the worst against not only the intellectual debate aimed at seeking solutions towards ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but situates the involvement of Hamas as a deleterious force which in all its intentions, seeks to undermine the much needed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In August 1988, Hamas, published its Covenant for its struggle against Israel in which it calls for the total destruction of the state of Israel. Article 11 of Hamas’s August 1988 Covenant, for example, unequivocally, states that the land of Palestine from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea is an Islamic endowment and that none of it should be squandered or given up by:

– any organisation

– a single Arab country

– all Arab countries

– any king or President nor all kings or all presidents be they Palestinians or Arab. 

Furthermore, Article 13 reiterates, by interpretation, that peaceful solutions and international conferences which are in contradiction to the principles of Hamas are not considered capable of realising the demands of Hamas and that these peaceful solutions are only intended to yield to the infidels (referring to Israelis and Jews) occupying the land belong to Muslims.

The August 1988 Hamas Charter is a galvanising invitation to Muslims across the globe to join its struggle aimed at the total annihilation of the state of Israel through the propagation of violent resistance within the context of a holy struggle and martyrdom by brainwashing its members and deploying them as suicide bombers not only against Israel military targets but also against Israeli civilian targets. Hamas has rejected international negotiated agreements such as the Oslo Accords as merely schemes to sell off the Palestinian land to the infidels. The Palestinian state from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea and from the south to the North, Hamas argues, will come from resistance and not from negotiations.

HARDLINE HONCHOS

In general, the exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashal reflects Hamas’ hardline wherein he always argues that there will be no concession on any inch of the land of Palestine, reiterating that Hamas will never recognise the legitimacy of Israel and that Hamas will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone and that Israel has no right to be in Jerusalem.  The charter also employs language that explicitly calls for the killing of Jews.

Before his assassination, Ismail Haniyeh, who replaced Mashal as head of Hamas political bureau in exile, celebrated the carnage inflicted by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians including foreigners attending a party on 07 In October 2023. In a jubilation message, Haniyeh stated that the political, military, intelligence, security and morale of the state of Israel was crushed and was optimistic that the State of Israel will be defeated by Hamas and expelled from all Palestinian lands from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea and from north to the South following the 7 October 2023 incursion into Israeli territory. While Haniyeh celebrated the massacre of civilians and foreign tourists, Reuters reported on 15 October 2023 that President Mahmoud Abbas did not share Haniyeh’s enthusiasm and criticized Hamas’s murderous spree of innocents. In furtherance of his disapproval, President Abbas added that Hamas policies and actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor the policies, programs and decisions of the Palestinian liberation organisation (PLO). By implication, Hamas was acting against the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people.

In general, the positions of world leaders are mostly unequivocal in condemning the heinous crimes committed by Hamas during its incursion into Israeli territory arguing for a peaceful settlement of the underlying causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in a two-state solution. Included in this camp is African Union Chairperson, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani who has reportedly emphasised that it is Hamas’ rejection of Israel’s right to exist as being the main impediment of international efforts to resolve the crisis. So too the Algerian government that has heightened the call for the de-escalation and a cease fire through dialogue, arguing that violence only serves to perpetuate unending suffering for the civilian population that bears the brunt of every conflict. President Biden, whose country renders unwavering support to the state of Israel has pushed for Middle East leaders to support the two-state solution saying there is no going back to the 6 Oct 2023 status quo.  The President of the European Commission, Ursula Van der Leyen, affirms Israel’s right to self-defence.

Plausibly, while the Oslo Accords are believed to have paved the way for a two-state solution bringing an end to the protracted violence and tensions between Israel and Palestine, Hamas has, nonetheless, reiterated its disdain of any agreement that seeks to promote a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, Hamas has chosen the path of not only murdering innocent civilians including those they suspect as collaborating with Israel, but has vowed never to stop attacking Israel.

Israel’s present mop up process against the murderous Hamas elements hiding in the enclave must continue in order to lay the foundation for genuine and effective negotiations between the State of Israel and well-meaning Palestinian leaders towards a two-state solution, where, Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peaceful coexistence.

With Hamas eternally pledged to never recognise Israel’s right to exist and committed to perpetrating future 7 October massacres, all international negotiating efforts necessary to reach an agreement resulting in a two-state solution can only be one where Hamas is effectively not at the negotiating table.

About the writer:

Dr. Peter Wandwasi (PhD) is a Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, University of Johannesburg.

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