After exchanging smiles and repression in Qatar with al-Jazeera's interviewer, the head of the Hamas political bureau went on to describe last night (Sunday) the terrorist organization's strategy in the years since he occupied the Gaza Strip.
At the top of the strategy, of course, is the armed struggle.
But Haniyeh explains how since 2009, with the end of Operation Cast Lead, Hamas has realized that the nature of the conflict with Israel has changed.
During the operation, the question arose at the top of the Israeli leadership regarding the future of the Gaza Strip.
The commander-in-chief of the Southern Command at the time, Yoav Galant, previously testified at the High Court of Justice that he recommended continuing the operation until the overthrow of Hamas' rule. Apparently, the recommendation was not accepted.
"The leader of Hamas inside (Gaza and Judea and Samaria) and abroad," as Ismail Haniyeh describes himself, recounted how from the first intifada, in which Palestinians underwent stone-throwing to terrorist attacks, they continued to carry out suicide bombings in the 1990s and thanks to engineer Yahya Ayash.
In the second intifada, he said, there had already been quality attacks in the depths of Israel that led to the "killing of hundreds of Zionists."
Haniyeh later describes that the beginning of the local rocket production was very preliminary and the range was only up to the city of Sderot.
He said Hamas had obtained long-range rockets from Iran and Syria, among others.
Operation The Guardian of the Walls: Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip, Photo: AFP
But in Operation Cast Lead, Israel began treating Hamas as a state enemy and carried out air, sea and land attacks.
In light of this, senior Hamas figures from the political bureau and the military wing gathered to assess the situation the next day.
Following this meeting, Haniyeh said, it was decided to develop strategic capabilities such as attack tunnels, obtain Cornet missiles and local production of rockets.
In favor of this strategy, Hamas launched an international fundraising campaign.
The main contributor to Hamas' armaments project was Iran, which Haniyeh donated a $ 70 million grant.
The Hamas leader explained the contradiction between Shiite Iran and the Sunni organization by saying that "the resistance is focused only on Palestine."
Haniyeh went on to describe how missiles fired and reached as far as Sderot, Hamas succeeded in paralyzing all of Israel in Operation Wall Guard.
He listed several landmarks such as: rocket fire first to Tel Aviv in Operation Pillar of Cloud (2012) and then the attacks through the tunnels in Operation Eitan Cliff (2014).
Rocket launches from Gaza during Operation Wall Guard., Photo: Photo: MOHAMMED SALEM
Haniyeh's remarks raise questions about the policy of rounds that Israel has pursued since 2008 and for more than a decade.
Despite talk of deterrence and "a painful blow to Hamas from which it will find it difficult to recover," it seems that the terrorist organization's round is intensifying.
Accordingly, during the interview, Ismail Haniyeh boasted that Hamas rockets had succeeded in overcoming the Iron Dome system.
If anything can be learned about the wind blowing in the green sails of the Islamist organization, it is that Hamas is already developing its next strategic weapon.
Whether it's accurate missiles or a son's another capability, it means the threat resin is rising, and that the round policy needs to be re-examined.
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