Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in Gaza City on 10 May, 2012. (Photo: Reuters – Suhaib Salem)
Hamas will not have to join a war against Israel in the event of a strike on Iran because Tehran won't need its help, Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Thursday.
"Hamas is a Palestinian movement that acts within the Palestinian arena and it carries out its political and field actions in a way that suits the interests of the Palestinian people," he said at his headquarters in the enclave.
"Iran did not ask anything from us and we think Iran is not in need of us," the prime minister of the Hamas government told Reuters in an interview.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to carry out a unilateral war against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear capabilities, although Iran insists its program is strictly designed for peaceful purposes.
"The Israeli threats are declared and they are not in need of analysis. But I think such an issue would have grave consequences on the entire region," the 48-year-old Hamas leader said. "I cannot predict the scenarios but a battle of this kind would have repercussions for the region."
Israel may have to reckon with potential attacks from the south by Hamas and from the north by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon if it launched a war with Iran.
Both groups are said to possess stockpiles of rockets able to strike deep into Israel.
Haniyeh said the grand coalition formed this week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which gives him an unassailable majority in parliament, had been established for internal reasons but could also have "external motives."
"On the external level there is no doubt that it was an attempt to absorb the big changes that have taken place in the region – the so-called Arab Spring – and maybe a preparation for several issues," he said.
Asked if Iran might be one of the issues, he said: "Maybe."
When asked about the mass hunger strikes being carried out by Palestinians in Israeli prisons, Haniyeh said the strikes were a test of Israel's commitment to universal humanitarian principles which must be recognized.
He warned that the death of any prisoner would have "negative repercussions," but did not elaborate.
"I do not wish that any prisoner in Israeli jails is martyred and so I demand that they (Israel) implement international law in respect to the prisoners, who should be regarded as prisoners of war," he said.
Palestinian human rights groups say up to 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails have been refusing food since April 17.
Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Thiab have been on hunger strike for 73 days and their health is severely deteriorating.
The pair, among hundreds of others, are being held under Israel's draconian administrative detention policy, which enables Israel to detain Palestinians indefinitely without charge. The Jewish state has also prevented family visits, and kept prisoners in solitary confinement, sometimes for years on end.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have previously slammed the measures as a violation of international humanitarian law, while the EU and UN have expressed “concern.”
But Israel has so far refused to compromise, with a Supreme Court decision on Monday rejecting the appeals of the hunger strikers.
"They are simple demands, humanitarian demands, such as ending solitary confinement, family visits, more television channels," the Hamas leader said.
Israel, he said, must keep the promises it made when captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released by Hamas last October, in exchange for the liberation of some 900 Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Islamic Jihad will not carry out any acts on its own in response to the potential deaths of the hunger strikers, the Hamas leader said, after the Gaza-based group originally warned it might escalate attacks if a prisoner perished.
"We had a meeting with the leadership of the Islamic Jihad and they have confirmed that any negative development in the issue of prisoners would be discussed among the national front and in a meeting for factions," Haniyeh said. "They will not take a unilateral action outside of a national consensus."
In regards to the reconciliation process with Fatah, Haniyeh "it's not dead, but it's not moving."
Hamas and Fatah led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have curbed the overt hostility that divided them for years, after violence erupted between the two in 2007.
"We have gone a long way to reach a Palestinian-Palestinian agreement but there are some external and internal obstacles," Haniyeh said, citing United States and Israeli pressure on Abbas not to make any partnership with a movement shunned in the West as a terrorist organization.
Internally, he said, some factions in Abbas' Palestinian Authority – which administers the West Bank – were dragging their heels because they benefited from the division.
But Haniyeh sounded optimism given the latest Arab Spring developments in the region, saying the Palestinians had been “the biggest beneficiary" of the uprisings.
The reconciliation accord of 2011 was brokered with Egypt's mediation, as was the prisoner swap for Shalit, he noted.
"Governments that had close ties with the Israelis at the expense of Palestinian rights have gone," he said. "Respect for the Palestinian cause among Arab people has been restored."
"Arab nations are increasingly embracing the concerns of the Palestinian people in regard to Jerusalem, prisoners and the (Israeli) blockade on Gaza," he said.
Benefits so far from neighboring Egypt may have been few, but they would come in time "when political life settles" and a new president, parliament and government were in power.
One immediate advantage from the toppling of US-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011 was the partial opening of the Rafah crossing bordering Gaza and Egypt, he said.
"We hope that with the will of the Egyptian people and political stability in Egypt things will get better and the policies towards Palestine will also be improved," he said.
Asked if Hamas had abandoned armed struggle, Haniyeh replied: "Of course not."
Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation would continue "in all forms – popular resistance, political, diplomatic and military resistance."
Hamas does not recognize Israel, unlike Abbas, who told Reuters in an interview in his West Bank compound on Wednesday that he opposed armed struggle with the Jewish state.
Haniyeh refused to say if Hamas would recognize Israel, instead insisting Israel recognizes the Palestinians, the indigenous people of the land, first.
"First of all does Israel recognize the Palestinian people's right to exist in a state and a political entity?" he said. "Let them first answer this question and then we will answer it."
He repeated that the Islamist movement was ready to conclude a truce with Israel which "could last for 10 years or more" in return for a state on lands occupied by Israel after the 1967 war.
But he said nothing of a comprehensive peace treaty, which Israel insists is the only way to end the 64-year-old Arab-Israeli conflict, although has done little to achieve that goal.
(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)
"Hamas is a Palestinian movement that acts within the Palestinian arena and it carries out its political and field actions in a way that suits the interests of the Palestinian people," he said at his headquarters in the enclave.
"Iran did not ask anything from us and we think Iran is not in need of us," the prime minister of the Hamas government told Reuters in an interview.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to carry out a unilateral war against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear capabilities, although Iran insists its program is strictly designed for peaceful purposes.
"The Israeli threats are declared and they are not in need of analysis. But I think such an issue would have grave consequences on the entire region," the 48-year-old Hamas leader said. "I cannot predict the scenarios but a battle of this kind would have repercussions for the region."
Israel may have to reckon with potential attacks from the south by Hamas and from the north by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon if it launched a war with Iran.
Both groups are said to possess stockpiles of rockets able to strike deep into Israel.
Haniyeh said the grand coalition formed this week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which gives him an unassailable majority in parliament, had been established for internal reasons but could also have "external motives."
"On the external level there is no doubt that it was an attempt to absorb the big changes that have taken place in the region – the so-called Arab Spring – and maybe a preparation for several issues," he said.
Asked if Iran might be one of the issues, he said: "Maybe."
When asked about the mass hunger strikes being carried out by Palestinians in Israeli prisons, Haniyeh said the strikes were a test of Israel's commitment to universal humanitarian principles which must be recognized.
He warned that the death of any prisoner would have "negative repercussions," but did not elaborate.
"I do not wish that any prisoner in Israeli jails is martyred and so I demand that they (Israel) implement international law in respect to the prisoners, who should be regarded as prisoners of war," he said.
Palestinian human rights groups say up to 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails have been refusing food since April 17.
Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Thiab have been on hunger strike for 73 days and their health is severely deteriorating.
The pair, among hundreds of others, are being held under Israel's draconian administrative detention policy, which enables Israel to detain Palestinians indefinitely without charge. The Jewish state has also prevented family visits, and kept prisoners in solitary confinement, sometimes for years on end.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have previously slammed the measures as a violation of international humanitarian law, while the EU and UN have expressed “concern.”
But Israel has so far refused to compromise, with a Supreme Court decision on Monday rejecting the appeals of the hunger strikers.
"They are simple demands, humanitarian demands, such as ending solitary confinement, family visits, more television channels," the Hamas leader said.
Israel, he said, must keep the promises it made when captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released by Hamas last October, in exchange for the liberation of some 900 Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Islamic Jihad will not carry out any acts on its own in response to the potential deaths of the hunger strikers, the Hamas leader said, after the Gaza-based group originally warned it might escalate attacks if a prisoner perished.
"We had a meeting with the leadership of the Islamic Jihad and they have confirmed that any negative development in the issue of prisoners would be discussed among the national front and in a meeting for factions," Haniyeh said. "They will not take a unilateral action outside of a national consensus."
In regards to the reconciliation process with Fatah, Haniyeh "it's not dead, but it's not moving."
Hamas and Fatah led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have curbed the overt hostility that divided them for years, after violence erupted between the two in 2007.
"We have gone a long way to reach a Palestinian-Palestinian agreement but there are some external and internal obstacles," Haniyeh said, citing United States and Israeli pressure on Abbas not to make any partnership with a movement shunned in the West as a terrorist organization.
Internally, he said, some factions in Abbas' Palestinian Authority – which administers the West Bank – were dragging their heels because they benefited from the division.
But Haniyeh sounded optimism given the latest Arab Spring developments in the region, saying the Palestinians had been “the biggest beneficiary" of the uprisings.
The reconciliation accord of 2011 was brokered with Egypt's mediation, as was the prisoner swap for Shalit, he noted.
"Governments that had close ties with the Israelis at the expense of Palestinian rights have gone," he said. "Respect for the Palestinian cause among Arab people has been restored."
"Arab nations are increasingly embracing the concerns of the Palestinian people in regard to Jerusalem, prisoners and the (Israeli) blockade on Gaza," he said.
Benefits so far from neighboring Egypt may have been few, but they would come in time "when political life settles" and a new president, parliament and government were in power.
One immediate advantage from the toppling of US-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011 was the partial opening of the Rafah crossing bordering Gaza and Egypt, he said.
"We hope that with the will of the Egyptian people and political stability in Egypt things will get better and the policies towards Palestine will also be improved," he said.
Asked if Hamas had abandoned armed struggle, Haniyeh replied: "Of course not."
Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation would continue "in all forms – popular resistance, political, diplomatic and military resistance."
Hamas does not recognize Israel, unlike Abbas, who told Reuters in an interview in his West Bank compound on Wednesday that he opposed armed struggle with the Jewish state.
Haniyeh refused to say if Hamas would recognize Israel, instead insisting Israel recognizes the Palestinians, the indigenous people of the land, first.
"First of all does Israel recognize the Palestinian people's right to exist in a state and a political entity?" he said. "Let them first answer this question and then we will answer it."
He repeated that the Islamist movement was ready to conclude a truce with Israel which "could last for 10 years or more" in return for a state on lands occupied by Israel after the 1967 war.
But he said nothing of a comprehensive peace treaty, which Israel insists is the only way to end the 64-year-old Arab-Israeli conflict, although has done little to achieve that goal.
(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)
Uprooted Palestinian 
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