As the Hamas-Israel ceasefire continues, political leaders of the Palestinian group have expressed cautious optimism about the new United States administration’s ability to continue to pressure Israel to the negotiating table, even as President Donald Trump and his team have made widely-condemned claims during his first weeks in office about “cleaning out” Gaza and Israel’s “biblical right” to the occupied West Bank.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Basem Naim, a Hamas leader based in Doha, said the group was “interested to meet with anyone who can help us achieve our goals, which are the goals of our people”. He cited statehood, self-determination, and the right of return for Palestinians who fled or were forced out of their homes after the Nakba in 1948 – when Israel was created on the majority of historic Palestine – or subsequent wars.
This includes the Trump administration, Naim said. “If there is any chance to meet with any party, including the Trump administration, to discuss in detail how we can achieve such goals, I think there would be no veto within the movement and no objections.”
“In politics, it is not about liking someone or not liking someone” Naim added, in reference to the US president. “It is about the interests of all parties.”
Naim’s comments followed similar sentiments shared by Hamas’s senior official, Mousa Abu Marzouk, in an interview with The New York Times on January 20. Abu Marzouk said that the group was “prepared for a dialogue with America”, and praised Trump as “a serious president”, crediting him with ending the Israel-Hamas war.
The comments appear to signal an overture by Hamas to a US administration, which they hope will deploy a more bullish approach to the conflict even as it remains staunchly pro-Israel.
Short-term ceasefire, long-term strategy
Naim welcomed Trump’s intervention in ceasefire talks that had languished under President Joe Biden, and expressed confidence that the agreement would hold. “We are committed to the deal and exerting maximum efforts to give this deal a chance to succeed,” he told Al Jazeera.
He also noted that the strategic alliance between the US and Israel was “so strong that we haven’t witnessed any serious differences between Republicans and Democrats”.
“Despite this, we still hope that the current administration can make a change and shift to a new American approach towards the Palestinian question,” he added. “If this happens, I’m sure we are ready to cooperate with any party who is ready to do it.”
Naim may voice cautious optimism, but he is also concerned about Trump’s long-term plans, citing the comments about Israel’s “biblical right” to the occupied West Bank by Trump’s nominee to be US ambassador to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik, as “disappointing” and “dangerous”.
He warned that the situation in the West Bank, where Israel has carried out deadly raids following the ceasefire in Gaza and settler violence has reached new levels of intensity, as extremely volatile.
“We are talking about a very radical, extreme political group of people,” he said. “If nothing happens from above – and especially from the United States, from the Trump administration – on t