Answer to Question
The Motives and Dimensions of Hamas's Declaration of its New Document
(Translated)

Question

On Monday, 1/5/2017, Hamas announced from Doha its acceptance of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders as a "formula of national consensus" and deleted the words "destruction of Israel" and declared its independence from the Muslim Brotherhood. My question is of two folds:

First: Is Hamas's declaration of its new document linked to peaceful and negotiated solutions adopted by the new US administration?

Or, was this "coup" in Hamas's aims influenced by Europe in a line separate from US policy?

Answer

In order to understand the motives and dimensions of the declaration of the new document that was called “The document of principles and general policies of Hamas” and its relationship with America and Europe,we review all this as follows:

First, the results of the concessions of the PLO followed by Hamas:

1- The PLO ,the alleged representative of Palestine, has ceded 80% of the land of Palestine (occupied in 1948) under the pretext that it may have a mini-state in the occupied 1967, but the Jews, instead of recognizing the remaining Palestine (occupied 1967) to the Palestinians in return, they recognized the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)! Indeed, the Jewish state, and the West in general, quickly and successfully turned the structure born from the PLO-the Palestinian Authority (PA)- in accordance with the ominous Oslo agreements.

They turned the PA into a security servant for the Jewish entity and into a series of traitorous concessions under the pretext of bringing peace. America and Europe know that the refusal of the Jewish entity to make any, however small, concessions for security pretexts is the main obstacle to the achievement of the so-called peace.

The PLO has made enormous concessions and is prepared to make more concessions for the purpose of declaring any settlement called a "Palestinian state" though it is demilitarized and devoid of sovereignty. That is, this state has nothing from a real state except the name, however, the Jewish entity wants more because it realizes that everyone is aware that the one who is humiliated easily accepts disgrace.

2- Hamas continued its heated statements against the the concessions of the PLO to the Jewish state in exchange for a state over the occupied land of 1967 which made the Palestinian Authority in a weak position in its negotiations that followed the signing of the Oslo agreement. So, a devious plan was drawn to make Hamas follow the PA by making it get to power under the occupation,and then it deals with the occupation and accepts the negotiations on a state in the 1967 occupied land, and this naturally leads to the recognition of the Jewish entity! And because the organization (PLO) is engaged to the core in the projects of the West, headed by America, to subjugate the people of Palestine and get them to accept the Jewish entity, the organization participated in the the conspiracy of the West to bring Hamas to power under the occupation. The organization contributed to this behind a curtain or without a curtain because it recognizes that the ruling under the occupation will lead Hamas to the same fate as Fatah and the organization. Thus, Hamas succeeded in the 2006 legislative elections, and the other factions refused to form a government of national unity with them because it was implicated in the ruling under occupation. At the same time, Qatar was intensifying its contacts with Hamas movement and declared its support for it, and then Hamas took control of the entire Gaza Strip.

By indulging Hamas’s sole ruling of the Gaza Strip, trapping it was complete since the Jewish entity refuses to deal with it on the service issues of two million people in the Gaza Strip because it views it as a "terrorist" group. In addition, Egypt has tightened the siege of Gaza especially after Sisi took power. Thus, the Gaza Strip and the rule of Hamas came between the jaws of the Sisi regime and the Jewish entity. The PA in Ramallah completed this containment, as it is the entity that deals with the Jewish entity concerning the Gaza Strip.

Hamas could not meet the basic life requirements of the people under its rule, and in this reality, the movement of Hamas with Qatar’s advice has put itself between two choices, the best of them is bitter, either to collapse and give back the control of Gaza to the PA (this is what Hamas rejects), or to respond to the advice of the supporters, especially Qatar, to soften attitudes toward the Jewish entity, build a kind of relations with it and to announce its proceedings in the settlement projects, including the 1967 State! All those who are aware know that assuming the rule under the occupation must lead to dealing with the occupier and to accepting negotiations with the Jewish entity and its support, and this reduces the objectives of the resistance by establishing a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 with all the necessary concessions. Of course, ignorance of that cannot be accepted as an excuse.

3- All the statements issued by the leaders of Hamas confirm that the goal of the document is to improve the acceptance of the international community of the movement, to maintain its rule in the Gaza Strip, and to agree to be an element in the equation of settlement of the Palestinian issue; that is, to remove all that was rumored that Hamas is a stumbling block against the settlement of the Palestine negotiations. These statements include:

a- Khalid Meshaal said that “the political document keeps pace with the changes and reflects the practices, thought, and vision of Hamas, and the decision to prepare the political document was taken four years ago, and the drafting process started two years ago ..." (Noon-Post, 1/5/2017)

Meshaal said that: “Hamas has chosen a new approach, namely development and flexibility, without compromising the principles and rights.” (Al-Arabiya.net,1/5/2017). He added in the press conference: “We agreed on drafting a political document that reflects the development of thought and political performance of Hamas, and we do not seek wars, but to liberate and get rid of the occupation ... After the adoption of the final version, we gathered for 9 hours with a group of international law men to take their observations, and this document shows that Hamas is an advanced and renewable movement that develops intellectually and politically as in the resistance.” (Ma’an News agency, 2/5/2017)

b- In response to a question on the importance of this document to the movement internally and externally, Barhoum said: “This document means a lot to this new generation in the movement, which is looking for flexibility, development and enlightened thought and keeping pace with the changes. It opens new horizons in dealing with society and defines the features and nature of the conflict for it with the enemy, and redefines the methods of dealing with the other and openness to the world”. Barhoum said: “Listen to Hamas and do not hear about it from its opponents and enemies, so that your compass does not deviate from the ways to deal with it.” (Noon Post, 2/5 /2017)

4- The articles of document state this:

Article 8 of the new document states that “Hamas understands Islam as covering all aspects of life, valid for all times and places and moderate and of a non-extreme spirit, and it believes that it is a Deen of peace and tolerance. Under it, followers of other laws and religions live in safety and security, and it believes that Palestine was and remains a model for coexistence, tolerance and civilizational creativity.“ The coexistence and tolerance between religions is meant here with the Jews, i.e., the closing of the past page and the opening of a new page of coexistence and tolerance. This is a sign of a great deal of complacency.

It also refers to the purpose of the declaration of the document which is to present the movement to Europe and America in a way that makes it better accepted and recognized in the Palestinian equation.

Article 34 of the document states: “The central role of Palestinian women is in building the present, the future, and the political system.” This text was not put in the context of how Islam raised the status of women, but to get closer to the concepts of the West about what they call "women's rights" which is a tool to attack the Islamic civilization and not real claims of women's rights. Moreover, the West is not calling for non- killing of Muslim women in Iraq, Syria and Palestine as it does not consider saving the life of a woman as a right, but it only calls for the idea of freedom for women as it desires to strike the Islamic civilization.

5- With these statements and texts of the document, its goal becomes clear; the document frees the movement of the ideological seal that raises the doubts of the West despite the fact that it is only a cover! It is characterized by a pragmatic view devoid of any Islamic ideological dimension. It, therefore, wants to be placed where it is not seen as an obstacle for peaceful solutions; that is, to open the way for negotiating solutions and to support them as a " a formula of national consensus"! The Hamas document even coincides with the possibility of opening negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Jewish entity. Its declaration on 1/5/2017 is explicit in conjunction with Abbas's visit to Washington on 2/5/2017. The deceptive language about Islam and the non-recognition of the Jewish entity is of no value. How can the acceptance of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and the non- recognition of an entity of the Jews be reconciled? The announcement by Hamas of its acceptance of a state on the 1967 borders while designating this as a formula of national consensus is only the beginning of the concessions which will be followed by more. This scene is reminiscent of the steps taken by the PLO in the gradual concessions until it became a security servant for the Jewish entity. As it is apparent, the "authority" of Hamas in Gaza, since the 2006 elections and then the seizure of power in Gaza, is not far from the steps of this gradation, especially since the speech of Meshaal in Damascuson 25/6/2009 in which he declared that he wants a state within the borders of 1967. On 26/6/2009, we issued a publication under the title "The Authority of Hamas follows the sunan (ways) of the Fatah Authority Hand Span by Hand Span and Arm’s Length by Arm’s Length”!!

We said in it: “When Fatah was established in the mid-1960s of the last century, it declared that it was adopting the resistance to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea, and it ended up losing the river and the sea and that between them. The Fatah authority recognized the existence of the Jewish entity in most of Palestine, and negotiated for what is left of Palestine under American sponsorship ... However, the Fatah authority until today, after many years of negotiations, did not get anything.

Then, Hamas was established about two decades after the establishment of Fatah, and it followed the same road of Fatah from the beginning; It declared its adoption of the resistance to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea and began criticizing the Fatah movement for its recognition of the Jewish state, demanding a state only in the 1967 borders and its falling in the arms of America ... Then Hamas ended up also demanding a state within the 1967 borders alongside a Jewish state in most of Palestine! And it extends it arms to America to negotiate and achieve this! In a speech by Hamas’s leader Khalid Meshaal in Damascus, 25/6/2009, he said with full confidence that “Hamas wants a state within the 1967 borders and that it is reaching out to negotiate with America for this purpose!” Thus, the gradual steps of concessions began eight years ago, i.e. double the time that Meshaal mentioned in the current Hamas document as he said: "The political document keeps pace with the changes and reflects the practices, thought and vision of Hamas, and the decision to prepare the political document was taken four years ago, and the drafting process began two years ago ...” (Noon Post, 1/5/2017).

The concessions started from before, but the difference is that Meshaal then mentioned a part of it and now he added parts to it. Previously, he mentioned a state within the 1967 borders but he kept in his charter the destruction of the Jewish state. He also kept Hamas’s link with the Muslim Brotherhood. And now he relinquished these two in line with the gradual concessions!! Another difference is that the former was a speech, which is open for commentary but now it is an approved political document.

Second: Hamas’s document and its relationship with the US projects for the solution:

1- In light of the volatility of the Arab region, especially in Syria and the growing tension between America and North Korea, the Palestinian issue is no longer a pressing issue of priority for the current American administration. Therefore, America is not in a hurry for this issue. It is exploring the prospects for solutions to the Palestinian issue and considering the possibility of opening negotiations between the Arabs, especially the Palestinians and the Jewish entity, and waiting to see how things develop, and what confirms this is what was reported by BBC on 11/3/2017: “Reuters quoted Nabil Abu Rudeina, the spokesman for the Palestinian President saying that Trump told Abbas that he wanted to discuss how to return to negotiations and he stressed his "commitment to a peaceful process leading to real peace", and he (Trump) said in a joint press conference with Abbas in the White House: ’I will do whatever is necessary ... I would like to act as an intermediary, or a guide or a judge between the two sides and we will accomplish this’" (Russia Today, 4/5/2017). That is, America is not offering specific plans for the solution in Palestine now until it spends enough time in the war or calm in Syria and North Korea. Trump doesn’t have a specified way on how to return to negotiations and the type of peace process he wants, but he is in the stage of exploration and talking with the parties to the conflict in Palestine. He also wants these parties to meet in direct meetings to agree on the solutions they want or rather wanted by the Jewish entity!

United States rRpresentative Nikki Haley met with the Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour for the first time last Tuesday and later said in a Tweet in Twitter (social media) that the Palestinians must meet with the Israelis "in direct negotiations rather than resorting to the United Nations for results ... ") (BBC, 11/3/2017).

2- The current American Administration has the strongest support for the Jewish entity than the previous administrations because the United States believes that the Middle East has become a turbulent region plagued by revolutions that reject the status quo in all its aspects. If America is able today to confront the revolutions through the existing regimes in the Islamic world, this may not be so in the near future because of the growing weakness of these regimes, and even some of them are about to fall. As a result, the importance of the Jewish entity in the US strategy takes priority in the service of US interests after the weakness of the Arab regimes. For all this, what seems strange in the suggestions by the Trump’s administration-such as the possibility of abandoning the two-state solution and the adoption of a one-state solution and the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem even if America is cunningly suggesting it- shows the extent of the danger that America feels for its interests in front of the Muslims’ revolutions. So, it focuses on supporting the entity of the Jews thinking that it is able to protect its interests after its agents in the region are shaken.

3- Because of his great attention and support to the Jewish entity, President Trump asked the Palestinians to stop the incitements. On his first meeting with Abbas on Wednesday, May 3rd, Trump called on Palestinian leaders “to speak in a united voice against incitement of violence against Israelis“. (Reuters Arabic, 4/5/2017).

In addition to what Trump is demanding of unfair conditions on the Palestinians if they want a two-state solution, Monitor website cited on 2/5/2017: “the most troubling issue for Palestinian negotiators is the American conditions for the resumption of peace talks presented by the US envoy Jason Greenblatt in March when he met with Palestinian and Arab leaders. The nine-point plan includes US conditions for acceptance of a two-state solution, including the need to reform Palestinian security in coordination with “Israel”, put an end to the open checks being sent to Gaza and show that the Palestinians oppose terrorism in practical ways.”

Third: Europe's relationship to the document and are they in a separate line from America?

European countries are too weak to have projects at the moment separately from America, and although pro-British Qatar has played an active role, this does not mean that Europe can find a solution to the Palestinian issue in isolation from America. In any case, the recognition of the Jewish entity and negotiating with it are the demands of the West as a whole, and Europe and the United States agree on this.

Britain, especially after the beginning of its march out of the European Union, is more than ever ready to move forward with America to resolve the Palestinian issue and not to put obstacles, and the Trump administration recognizes some of Britain’s’ favours to them and is ready to reward it with some of the spoils especially as the American and European sides stand in the face of the enormous Islamic dangers and witness them closely in the revolting Arab Islamic region, and the entire region may be about to get out of Western control.

Fourth: We repeat what we always say

The recognition of Fatah and Hamas of the two states in Palestine will not make the Jewish entity legitimate in Islam. Fatah and Hamas are not Islam and Muslims, but they are a small part of the convoy that deviated from the way. However, Palestine is a blessed Islamic land belonging to the Islamic Ummah. It is in the hearts and minds of the Ummah since Allah (swt) connected it to the Sacred House (Ka’aba) in the great incident; the incident of Isra and Mi’raj:

(سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آَيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ)

“Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing” [Al-Isra’: 1]

This is Palestine; its solution will not be by the hand extended to the US by negotiating a two-state solution, or by negotiating with the Jewish entity even if it completely withdraws from all the occupied land in 1967.

Every inch in occupied Palestine in 1948 and every inch in occupied Palestine in 1967 are the same according to Islam. Throughout the centuries of the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate),the blessed land has been irrigated with the blood of the martyrs of the Islamic army until there has been no inch left of Palestine that wasn’t covered by the blood of martyrs or the dust of a Mujahid’s horse.

Palestine, since the incident of Isra, has been and remains a trust in the necks of Muslims, and no free Muslim has the right to betray this trust, Allah Al Qawi (All Strong) Al Aziz (All Powerful) says:

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَخُونُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوا أَمَانَاتِكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ)

“O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].” [Al-Anfal: 27]

15 Sha’ban 1438 AH
12/5/2017 CE