Hamas has reacted to the election victory of President Donald Trump:
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said Wednesday that the incoming administration of presidential election winner Donald Trump must “work seriously to stop the war” in the Gaza Strip.
The declaration comes after a report emerged claiming Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap up the conflict by the time he gets inaugurated on Jan. 20 if he had won the election. Trump ultimately prevailed over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Hamas said, “In light of the initial results showing Donald Trump winning in the U.S. presidential elections,” they believe he is “required to listen to the voices that have been raised by the U.S. public for more than a year regarding the [Israeli] aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
The incoming Trump administration must “work seriously to stop the war of genocide and aggression against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, stop the aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people, stop providing military support and political cover to the Zionist entity, and to recognize the legitimate rights of our people,” Hamas added.
Hamas also said the “new US administration must realize that our Palestinian people will continue to resist the hateful [Israeli] occupation and will not accept any path that detracts from their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Their mention of “the voices that have been raised by the U.S. public for more than a year regarding the [Israeli] aggression on the Gaza Strip” is a clear reference to the plethora of anti-Israel voices since October 7, which include celebrities, students and staff on college campuses, other wokesters, and the likes of Rashida Tlaib and her fellow squad members. This is a strong indication as to how these people are actually emboldening Hamas, and making the notion of a ‘ceasefire’ – which they claim to want – further away than ever. Had these people condemned Hamas for their atrocities like any normal person with a working moral compass would, or even shut up, then Hamas would not feel as emboldened, and might even have released the hostages by now.
What is also interesting about this announcement is Hamas’ call for “the establishment of their independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.” They seem to be deliberately using the softer language employed by the Palestinian Authority and others supposedly wanting to negotiate peace with Israel. But it is clear Hamas see the entirety of Israel as the “occupation” (not just a return of territories liberated in 1967) , aim for the destruction of Israel and for it to be supplanted by a Palestinian state. My guess is that this softer rhetoric is a ploy to start planting in President Trump’s mind the idea that they would be willing to negotiate a “two-state” solution. By doing so, they hope to have President Trump force Israel to end the war, even with Hamas intact, and perhaps in future even be willing to include them in negotiations. If I am correct, then this would just be a short-term tactic to help them achieve their ultimate goal – which makes them much like the so-called “moderate” PA, only with worse PR.
