Palestinian strong refusal to direct talks supports Hamas, says Osama Hamdan

Palestinian national powers led by Hamas critisied direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel, accusing Mahmoud Abbas of abandoning the Palestinian rights. They committed to spoil them by intensifying their armed activity. Hamas’ representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan told Echorouk in an interview about his point of view about those developments.

• After the restart of direct talks in Washington, what will Hamas do to face this step?
• The restart of the talks mainly came to save the US administration’s honour and its positions in the region and inside the occupied Palestinian lands. This is no more than a useless pretext. Any previous program did not help the peace process because it is an idea based on a wrong principle and not on rights principle. The Palestinian people are obliged to accept Israel as an occupying state and not a member in the region. I do not see any horizon in these talks. The administration may put more pressure to get more concessions.
• As for our position, we continue facing those attempts and we are supported by a strong Palestinian refusal. I believe that even if the talks are successful to some extent, the convention will not be implemented.
• What can you say about accusing Hamas of foiling the peace process?
• Those statements show that the talks started from a vulnerable basis and it failed before it even starts. The best proof is Netanyahu’s attachment to the Israeli State’s Judaism and the continuity of the occupation.
• But Mahmoud Abbas said he is going to the talks with an Arab cover?
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• That is not true. The Arabs did not oblige him to go to talks. He said he is going to Washington because he could not reject Obama’s invitation.
• Special US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell said Hamas will not play any role in the direct talks. Why all this concentration on the fact that Hamas will not play any role in those talks though it rejected and criticised the position?
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• I think that there are two reasons. Firstly, there is a US continuous attempt to criminalise Hamas. Secondly, the US administration tries to jump over the Palestinian refusal and to say Hamas has no role. We are not asking for talks because reality shows that talks harmed the Palestinian cause and the Arab position. We are concerned by being a part in such talks. The Palestinian negotiator for two decades abandoned many Palestinian rights.
• Is there any link between the US arrangements in the region including the American withdrawal from Iraq and reassuring Israel that Iran needs more time to inaugurate its nuclear project?
• I believe that the US withdrawal from Iraq is related to the search for an opportunity to go out from the failure in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are big pressures from inside America on the administration to withdraw its forces there.
• The increasing of those pressures and the escalation against Iran are an attempt to reduce the Iranian capacity in targeting the US forces.
• Do you think that the Arabs avoid the Palestinian cause because of local issues or the Palestinian interne situation?
• First of all, let’s agree on something. There is a decline. I believe that it is a decline combined of the Arab and Palestinian parts. It turned out that the decline is rapidly continuing after Oslo phase. When things suggested that the solution will be reached soon, reality says responsibility is mutual in this context. We all considered the Arabs partners and not observers. Partnership has its duties and responsibilities. The West used the Arab countries’ reality to weaken and marginalise the Arab role in the Palestinian affairs. Yet, this did not have any effect on the people.