Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, says that the October 7th massacre has elevated the Palestinian issue to an unprecedented level and opened the door for recognition of a Palestinian state.
In his speech before the Arab National Conference held in Lebanon, Haniyeh said that Israel has failed to achieve its goals due to the firm stand of the Palestinian people and their resistance organizations.
According to him, Israel and its leaders have completely failed in deterrence and their "ideological terror," as well as in expelling Palestinians, dismantling the military power, and returning the hostages.
Haniyeh noted that the Palestinian achievements are also based on the "heroic" fighting on the ground, the unified battlefronts and the synergy in the management of the campaign against Israel.
Haniyeh also said that Hamas has once again conveyed to the mediators that it is not giving up on its demands, which are: the cessation of "aggression", a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip, the lifting of the siege, the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and the implementation of a "dignified" prisoner exchange (the release of security prisoners in exchange for the return of the hostages).
The Hamas leader accused Israel of using the negotiations to continue "aggression", and therefore, he said, the Palestinian organizations would not agree to take part in the negotiations. He addressed a message to those who speak of "the day after", saying, "They will choke on the rope of their delusions."
Haniyeh called for national Palestinian unity on the basis of establishing a national leadership in which the organizations that are members of the PLO participate, forming a national consensus government in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under a national authority, and holding general elections for the parliament, the presidency, and the Palestinian National Council.
