Ghazi Hamad (R), member of Hamas Political Office, delivers remarks on the Israel-Hamas war, next to Ahmed Abd al-Hadi (L), Hamas
“Without our weapons, no one would be looking in our direction,” Ghazi Hamad stated during the interview with Al Jazeera.
Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, boasted about the role that the terror group’s October 7 massacre played in bringing the issue of Palestinian statehood back to the international agenda, in an interview broadcast by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera this weekend.
He also criticized the Palestinian Authority and the international community, and claimed that interest in Palestinian statehood and the “fate of Palestinians” was only achieved through the terror group’s “resistance and the blow we dealt to Israel.”
“Without our weapons, no one would be looking in our direction,” Hamad stated during the interview.
He continued with his criticism of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, stating that “For more than a decade, no one spoke with Abbas about a two-state solution or the establishment of a Palestinian state. All that was offered to the PA was humanitarian aid.”
“We [Hamas] are the ones who brought the issue back to the forefront, and that is why all the countries are starting to recognize a Palestinian state,” he claimed.
Ghazi Hamad, member of Hamas Political Office, delivers remarks on the Israel-Hamas war during a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, November 2, 2023; illustrative. (credit: REUTERS/ALAA AL-MARJANI)
Planned recognition from major European countries
France, the UK, and Germany have all declared their intention to recognize a Palestinian state by September, with the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stating on Thursday that the process must begin now, warning Berlin would respond to “unilateral steps.”
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in an X/Twitter post on July 24.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the UK Cabinet that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state in September, unless the Israeli government takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza,” Starmer’s office announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Jerusalem Post Staff and Reuters contributed to this report.