[R-G] Hamas: We will win war in Gaza

[Anthony Fenton]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200918155333111890.html

Hamas: We will win war in Gaza

Israel's war on Gaza has left more than 700 Palestinians dead - nearly  
a third of them women and children - and more than 3,000 injured.

But at the organisation's headquarters in Damascus, 100km miles from  
the territory, Musa Abu Marzouq, the deputy head of Hamas' political  
bureau, told Al Jazeera why he believes his organisation is on the  
verge of victory against Israel.

Al Jazeera: Under what conditions will Hamas agree a ceasefire with  
Israel?

Abu Marzouq: We have three conditions for any peace initiative coming  
from any state.

First, the aggression of the Israelis should stop. All of the gates  
should be opened, including the gate of Rafah between the Gaza Strip  
and Egypt. Finally, Israel has to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

We are not saying we will stop firing rockets from the Gaza Strip to  
Israel - we are only talking about stopping the aggression from the  
Israelis against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

When others talk about a ceasefire, they are saying all military  
operations should stop.

But we are sending a message [by firing rockets]: "We will not  
surrender. We have to fight the Israelis and we will win this battle."

We know we are going to lose a lot of people from our side, but we are  
going to win, inshallah.

Members of Hamas have said that Israel is using collective punishment  
by targeting civilians who support Hamas. But is Hamas' targeting of  
Israeli civilians also not a type of collective punishment?

We are defending ourselves.

When you talk about any occupation, people should resist the soldiers  
and the army who occupy their country.

We don't have weapons sophisticated enough to launch at exact targets.

We are sending a message: "You can't provide security to your side  
until you bring security to the Palestinian side."

We are looking for freedom and for security for the Palestinian  
people. This is our message to Israel.

They need to understand that we are working for an independent state.

How do you think Israel's war on Gaza will affect Hamas' position?

The Israeli push against Hamas has increased our popularity sharply  
among the Palestinian people and throughout the Muslim world.

After the Israelis killed Hamas leaders like Ahmed Yassin and Ismail  
Abu Shanab, Hamas won the elections with 76 seats out of a 132-seat  
parliament.

Using these means doesn't decrease the popularity of Hamas, it  
increases it.

What exactly would you consider to be "victory" for Hamas?

A victory for Hamas would mean the Israelis did not accomplish their  
objectives.

If they can't stop rockets from coming into Israel, that means they  
failed.

But the real reason for Israel's aggression is to change the Hamas  
government in the Gaza Strip - they have been thinking about this  
since Hamas won the elections - it is not because of the rockets.

They failed to lead the people in an uprising against Hamas in the  
Gaza Strip with their economic embargo.

They tried to push Fatah to stand and fight Hamas, but we defeated  
them in the Gaza Strip, so the Israelis have taken action themselves.

Why, at the beginning of this conflict, did Hamas decide not to renew  
the six-month ceasefire?

We agreed to this ceasefire under Egyptian mediation with certain  
conditions.

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All military operations were to be stopped by June 19.

All of the six gates between Israel and Gaza were to remain open.

In the first 10 days of the truce, 30 per cent of the goods coming  
from Israel to the Gaza Strip were to be allowed in and, after that 10- 
day period, all supplies were to be allowed to enter.

Also, there was to be a meeting between the Europeans, Egyptians, the  
Palestinian Authority and Hamas to discuss how to open the Rafah gate.

Finally, the ceasefire was supposed to be extended to the West Bank.

During those six months, the Israelis kept the border crossings closed  
most of the time.

Only 15 per cent of goods were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip from  
Israel.

They killed more than 40 people in the last month of the ceasefire,  
eight of which were in the last week.

On many occasions, the Egyptians told us that the Israelis were not  
respecting the agreement.

Their refusal to allow supplies to enter was a type of slow killing of  
the Palestinians.

The Palestinians eventually asked: "What is the use of this ceasefire  
for us?"

For that reason, we didn't renew that agreement.

Khalid Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, in December called for a  
"military intifada against the Zionist enemy" and as a "peaceful  
intifada internally".

What did he mean by an internal peaceful intifada?

I think he meant that there needs to be internal change among the  
Palestinians.

Right now the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank controls  
everything. This is not acceptable.

We need to peacefully change these conditions.

How are relations between Hamas and Fatah now?

Now the priority for Hamas, Fatah or any Palestinian organisation is  
to stand against the Israeli aggression.

After we finish with this battle, I guess we can talk about  
reconciliation or reuniting with Fatah.

We openly welcome any kind of negotiation or dialogue between Fatah  
and Hamas to end the separation of the Palestinians.

When French president Nicolas Sarkozy met with Syrian president Bahsar  
al-Assad, many said he tried to encourage Damascus to put pressure on  
Hamas to stop firing rockets.

Have you faced any kind of pressure from Syria?

We haven't seen any pressure from Syria.

They respect our independence. They respect our choices. They respect  
the policies we chose for our people.

Has Hamas had any contact with the administration of Barack Obama, the  
US president-elect?

No, we haven't had any direct contact.

Do you have any expectations regarding the approach of Hillary  
Clinton, the US nominee-designate for the post of US secretary of state?

We cannot evaluate something that lies in the future.

We know that in the US senate, Hillary Clinton's vote was always with  
Israel, but maybe there will be some differences when she becomes  
secretary of state.