RUTHFULLY YOURS

In separate statements over the past week, senior officials of the Iran-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said that their terror groups “will not surrender.” The statements came as the Trump administration continued its efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of 50 Israeli hostages held by the terror groups. Twenty of the hostages are believed to be alive, while the remaining 30 are presumed dead. The hostages were kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of Israel. At least 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered that day, and thousands wounded.

The statements show that the leaders of Hamas and PIJ are determined to fight Israel until the last Palestinian in the Gaza Strip. So far, the fighting in Gaza following the October 7 atrocities has claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians and resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands whose homes were destroyed. The statements from Hamas and PIJ demonstrate a total disregard for the ongoing suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The statements, in addition, show that the terror groups and their sponsors in Qatar and Iran have zero respect for President Donald J. Trump and his envoys, who have been working to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian terror groups.

The terrorists want an end to the war while staying in power and pursuing their jihad (holy war) to murder Jews and eliminate Israel. A ceasefire, even if temporary, will allow the terrorists to rearm, regroup and launch more terror attacks against Israel.

“Gaza will not surrender no matter how long the war continues,” said Izzat al-Risheq, member of the Hamas Politburo. “The resistance is the one that will impose its conditions [on Israel].”

Mohammed al-Hindi, Deputy Secretary-General of PIJ, said:

“Israel will not be able to advance further in the Gaza Strip, or else attrition will be the fate of its forces. The resistance is not cowardly to surrender.”

He added that Hamas and PIJ “do not trust American guarantees” that the war would end once all the hostages were released.

Recently, Hamas accused the Trump administration of embarking on a policy of “deception and distortion of facts, and a denial of the legitimate rights of our Palestinian people to resist the occupation and achieve self-determination.”

Hamas has been demanding “clear guarantees” that any US-brokered ceasefire deal would ultimately lead to the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, meaning that the Israelis should stop defending themselves against attacks.

This is the same Hamas that has been repeatedly condemning the US administration for its supposed “bias” in favor of Israel and “providing the [Israeli] occupation government with a political and military cover.”

Similarly, PIJ has also been launching scathing attacks on the Trump administration, accusing it of “sponsoring the crimes committed by the government of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu” and being “an actual partner in the barbaric war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.”

“The practices and policies of the Donald Trump administration are essentially not different from those of the previous administration, and are designed to benefit all regimes that continue to rely on American administrations that seize Arab funds without regard for Arab dignity and that finance the criminal entity [Israel] with weapons, equipment, ammunition, and mercenaries, and provide it with political cover to continue its crimes.”

PIJ and Hamas view the US as an enemy because of its support for Israel, even though it was Hamas — with Qatar’s and Iran’s backing — that launched the war in the first place. At the same time, they are asking the Trump administration for guarantees for a permanent ceasefire with Israel. Many Arabs seem to like starting wars — such as the war of 1948, when five Arab armies invaded Israel on the day of its independence, and which they now call the nakba (catastrophe) — but then getting angry when they lose them.

Hamas and PIJ are desperate for a permanent end to the war so they can continue ruling the Gaza Strip after the war and plan more October 7-style massacres against Israel.

It is important to note that both al-Risheq and al-Hindi, who reject a temporary ceasefire, do not live in the Gaza Strip. Like most Hamas and PIJ leaders, they and their families lead safe and comfortable lives in Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey.

Their remoteness from the conflict is also a reason the two leaders are in no rush to reach a temporary ceasefire deal that would spare the lives of many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Commenting on al-Risheq’s remarks, Gaza-born Palestinian human rights advocate Hamza Howidy wrote on X:

“Once again, Hamas’s spokesman – Izzat al-Risheq this time – tries to equate Hamas with Gaza, insisting ‘they will never surrender.’ He speaks from comfort abroad, while Gazans starve in ruins. But Gaza, in reality, surrendered long ago. This kind of language is only aimed to block any ceasefire that doesn’t assure Hamas staying in power. Every time negotiations move forward, Hamas escalates the rhetoric and, for sure, prolongs this war. Refusing to surrender, in his words, means one thing: more Gaza children will be sacrificed to prolong his movement’s survival.”

If Hamas and PIJ really wanted to end the war, they could have, immediately and unconditionally, released all the hostages, laid down their weapons, and relinquished control of the Gaza Strip. Then, there would be no need for guarantees from the US or any other party for a permanent ceasefire. Israel responded with military force to the October 7 carnage to achieve two goals: freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas’s military capabilities. Israel has no intention of engaging in an open-ended war.

The terror groups’ leaders, however, continue to live in a fantasy world. They are convinced that despite the death and destruction they brought on their people, they can continue ruling the Gaza Strip after the war. As long as Hamas and PIJ insist on maintaining their hold on power, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have no future.

The Trump administration needs to insist that all terror groups in Gaza be dismantled and driven out of power as part of any ceasefire deal with Israel. It is time that the Americans understood that the Palestinian jihadis pose a threat not only to Israel, but also to the US and its Arab allies in the Middle East, especially by inciting violence against them and carrying out — or encouraging — terrorist attacks against Americans and moderate Arab regimes (such as here and here).

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.