A senior Hamas official has called for an immediate end to Israel's war against the group in the Gaza Strip and a plan to achieve Palestinian statehood in remarks shared with Newsweek in the wake of former President Donald Trump's election victory.
"The election of Trump as the 47th president of the USA is a private matter for the Americans," Hamas Political Bureau member and spokesperson Bassam Naim told Newsweek, "but Palestinians look forward to an immediate cessation of the aggression against our people, especially in Gaza, and look for assistance in achieving their legitimate rights of freedom, independence, and the establishment of their independent self-sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital."
"The blind support for the Zionist entity 'Israel' and its fascist government, at the expense of the future of our people and the security and stability of the region, must stop immediately," he added.
When previously in office, Trump forged a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is today engaged in a multifront war against the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance that began with a large-scale Hamas-led attack against Israel in October 2023. However, Trump has also expressed criticism of Netanyahu's wartime leadership and has called for a timely end to the conflict.
With continued signs of disagreement between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu over the course of the war despite sizable U.S. military aid, the Israeli premier was the first to congratulate Trump on what was described as "history's greatest comeback."
"Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America," Netanyahu said in his statement Wednesday.
Netanyahu later spoke with Trump. The conversation was described by the Israeli side as a "warm and cordial" exchange in which the two "agreed to work together for Israel's security, and also discussed the Iranian threat."
Newsweek has reached out to Hezbollah, the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Israeli Consulate General in New York for comment.
The Israel-Hamas war, which has since expanded to include an Israeli air and land offensive against the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, strikes from other Axis of Resistance factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and even direct exchanges of strikes between Israel and Iran, has proven a polarizing foreign policy issue in the U.S.
While Biden has both continued to provide military assistance to Israel and call for greater safeguards to mitigate civilian harm, he has been accused by Israel supporters of not doing enough to aid the U.S. ally and by pro-Palestinian factions of failing to sufficiently rein in Netanyahu.
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign largely echoed the Biden administration's position, calling for peace and expressing sympathy to the plight of civilians caught in the conflict while at the same rejecting any calls to withhold arms sales to Israel.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Hamas also called for end to Israel's campaign in Lebanon and for the U.S. to "stop providing military support and political cover to the Zionist entity, and to recognize the legitimate rights of our people."
"The American president-elect is required to listen to the voices that have been raised from American society itself for more than a year regarding the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip," the statement said, "rejecting the occupation and genocide, and objecting to support and bias toward the Zionist entity."
This is a developing story and further information will be added as it becomes available.
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