So many people have so many ideas about what the Israel-Palestine/ Israel-Arab conflict is all about. I wanted to know what the truth is, and therefore, I skipped all the middlemen and went straight to Hamas, the people’s elected representative of Gaza, which has been at war with Israel for many decades now. Here’s what Hamas told me1 about the Gaza conflict:
Hi Hamas, your conflict with Israel has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Gazans. Can you tell us whether this conflict is political or religious? What is driving the conflict – Is it nationalism, a zeal for self-determination, or some other religious reason?
“the Palestinian cause is a religious cause.”
“When the idea [of forming Hamas] matured… the Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] went forth to perform its role, Mujahida (struggling) for the sake of its Lord. The Movement placed its hands with the hands of all the Mujahidin [Strugglers/Fighters] who strive to free Palestine. The souls of its Mujahidin gather with all the souls of the Mujahidin who strove with their souls on the land of Palestine for all time since it was conquered by the companions of the Messenger of Allah [Prophet Muhammad] (saas) until today.”
“The Islamic Resistance Movement: Islam is its system. From Islam it reaches for its ideology, fundamental precepts, and world view of life, the universe and humanity; and it judges all of its actions according to Islam and is inspired by Islam to correct its errors.”
“The structure of the Islamic Resistance Movement consists of Muslims who gave their loyalty to Allah. They therefore worshipped Him as He truly deserves… They raised the banner of Jihad in the face of the transgressors to free country folk from [the transgressors’] filth, impurity and evil”
“Allah is its [Hamas’] goal, the Messenger [Muhammad] its leader, and the Quran its constitution.”
“The Motto of The Islamic Resistance Movement: Allah is its Goal, The Messenger is its leader, The Quran is its constitution, Jihad is its methodology, and Death for the sake of Allah is its most coveted desire.”
“[Hamas] gives its loyalty to Allah, adopts Islam as a system of life, and works toward raising the banner of Allah on every inch of Palestine.”
Thank you for clarifying that the Palestinian cause is a religious one. You are operating within an Islamic framework and working to achieve Islam’s goals. Tell us what exactly the problem with Israel is? Are you fighting with Israel because it is oppressing Palestinian Arabs, or is there a different motive? What’s the main issue here, and what is your goal?
“The goal of the Islamic Resistance Movement therefore is to conquer evil [Israel], break its will, and annihilate it so that truth may prevail, so that the country may return to its rightful place, and so that the [Islamic Prayer] call may be broadcast over the Minarets [lit. Mosques] proclaiming the Islamic State. And aid is sought from Allah.”
I see, so when you say “Free Palestine”, you are not referring to setting Palestine free from any oppression. You are simply referring to freeing Palestine from the presence of Israel. You want Israel to change from being a Jewish state to an Islamic state. Why is it so important to turn Israel into an Islamic State? You Muslims have plenty of land in Arabia, so why can’t you just leave Israel alone?
“Palestine is an Islamic Waqf [Trust] upon all Muslim generations till the day of Resurrection. It is not right to give it up nor any part of it. Neither a single Arab state nor all the Arab states, neither a King nor a leader, nor all the kings or leaders, nor any organization – Palestinian or Arab – have such authority becuase the land of Palestine is an Islamic Trust upon all Muslim generations until the day of Resurrection… This is the legislation in the Islamic Shari’a (Jurisprudence), and the same goes for all the lands accessed and consecrated by Muslims at the time of conquering for all Muslim generations till the day of Resurrection.”
I see. Whatever land Muslims conquer becomes theirs forever (at least until the so-called day of Resurrection), and you cannot let it go, even though you brutally attacked natives living in that land and stole it from them. I have another question then…
If Palestine is an Islamic Waqf that Muslims for all generations must not give up, why did you sell the land to the Jews to start with? It looks like you had no problem taking their money and selling them the land; you only started fighting them when they wanted to turn the land they bought into a sovereign state. Do you have anything to say about that?
“…the benfits and blessings of the land should stay in the hands of its owner. As for its real ownership, it should become a trust for the Muslim generations till the day of Resurrection. Those who are on the land have the rights to the land’s benefits only, and this trust is permanent as long as the heavens and the earth last. Any action taken in contradiction to the Islamic Shari’a concerning Palestine is unacceptable action, to be taken back by its claimants.”
Interesting. So, according to Islam, it’s okay for the Jews to buy the land and enjoy its benefits, but the land must remain an Islamic land forever. That’s why you were happy to sell your land to the Jews, but you cannot accept the idea of a Jewish state in that land. Makes sense.
If Muslims are obliged to not give any part of the land conquered by Muslims, I am guessing that you will not be able to accept any partition plans or two-state solutions. Is that correct? What do you think of the two-state solutions and peace plans proposed by various western countries and the UN?
“Giving up any part of Palestine is like giving up part of its religion.”
“The Islamic Resistance Movement does not perceive that the conferences [“peaceful solutions” and “international conferences”] are able to deliver the demands, provide the rights, nor do justice to the oppressed. Those conferences are nothing but enforcing the rule of the unbelievers in the land of Muslims.”
“The initiatives, options, and international conferences are a waste of time and a kind of child’s play.”
If you believe that peaceful solutions and peace initiatives are a waste of time, what then is the solution to the Palestinian problem?
“There is no solution to the Palestinian Problem except by Jihad”
“When an enemy occupies some of the Muslim lands, Jihad becomes obligatory for every muslim. In the struggle against the Jewish occupation of Palestine, the banner of Jihad must be raised. That requires that Islamic education be passed to the masses locally, in the Arab [world] and in the Islamic [world], and that the spirit of Jihad – fighting and joining the ranks-must be brodcast among the Umma (Muslim community). The education must process must involve… especially, the youth of the Islamic Movement and their scholars.”
“We must train the Muslim generation in our area, an Islamic training that depends on performing the religious obligations, studying the book of Allah very well… Also, there is the importance of planning for the present and the future, and studying every trend where the fighting Muslim (Mujahid) can live in his time with the full knowledge of his destiny, purpose, path, and the events surrounding him.”
“To guard Muslims from infidels in Allah’s cause for one day is better than the world and whatever is on its surface… By Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s life, I love to be killed in the way of Allah, then to be revived to life again, then to be killed and then to be revived to life and then to be killed.”
Wow. So you believe that Jihad is the only solution, and you will train all the people in Gaza, especially the youth, to become Jihad warriors (Mujahedin). Do you believe women have any role to play in this Jihad?
“The Muslim woman has a role in the battle for liberation which is no less than the role of the man, for she is the factory of men.”
“The women in the house of the Mujahid, (and the striving family), be she a mother or sister, has the most important role in taking care of the home and raising children of ethical character and understanding that comes from Islam, and of training her children to perform the religious obligations to prepare them for the Jihadic role that awaits them.“
Okay, final question – Is your fight just with the Zionists (those who want Israel to be a Jewish homeland) or are you at war with all Jews? Also, is your fight with them just because you don’t want Israel to exist as a nation or is it because you hate Jews in general?
“Israel with its Jewishnes and its Jewish population challenges Islam and Muslims.”
“Our battle with the Jews is long and dangerous, requiring all dedicated efforts. It is a phase which must be followed by succeeding phases, a battalion which must be supported by battalion after battalion of the divided Arabic and Islamic world until the enemy is overcome, and the victory of Allah descends.”
“They [Jews and Christians] draw on themselves wrath from Allah and pitched over them is (the tent of) destitution.“
Thank you very much for your honest responses. Thank you for making it clear that the Israel-Palestine/Israel-Arab conflict is not about the self-determination of Palestinians but about obeying Allah and turning Israel into an Islamic State. Thank you for letting us know you are not interested in a two-state solution. You want to see Israel wiped out fully, and you are happy to indoctrinate all Palestinians, especially your youth, that dying for Allah while waging Jihad is to be coveted the most. Are there any final words you want to say to Israel and Jews?
“Israel will be established and will stay established until Islam nullifies it as it nullified what was before it”.
“Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.“2
“[Hamas] looks forward to fulfill the promise of Allah no matter how long it takes becuase the Prophet of Allah (saas) says: The last Hour would not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them, and until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim or Servant of Allah there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree of Gharqad would not say it, for it is the tree of the Jews.”
- The Charter of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of Palestine; Journal of Palestine Studies XXII, no. 4 (Summer 1993), pp.122-134; https://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/attachments/jps-articles/2538093.pdf âŠī¸
- Hamas Charter 2017; https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/hamas-2017.pdf âŠī¸