In recent days, Hamas has secretly appealed to Fatah leaders to reach understandings about control of Gaza and the West Bank after the end of the war. These talks clearly signal that Hamas' political leadership is beginning to plan for the day after.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Husam Badran, a member of Hamas' political bureau in Doha, said: "We don't want to fight just because we want to fight. We are not partisans of a zero-sum game. We want the war to end." This statement marks a shift in the mood of Hamas' political leadership.
Netanyahu: "The debate between Hamas and Fatah is not about whether to destroy the State of Israel, but how" (Archive) // GPO
According to an Israeli source and people familiar with the discussions, the talks on political leadership with Fatah, the dominant faction in the West Bank, created tensions with Yahya Siwanar, head of Hamas' military-terrorist wing. According to them, Sinwar does not want Hamas to continue ruling the Gaza Strip, but he still thinks it is too early to compromise and that the war is not yet lost. In addition, when he learned of the talks of the political leadership, he demanded that they be stopped.
In an interview with Reuters, Hussein al-Sheikh, defined as Mahmoud Abbas' No. 2 and secretary general of the PLO's Executive Committee, said that "the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, need to reexamine their policies in order to achieve freedom for their people." It is unacceptable for some of them to believe that their method and approach in managing the conflict with Israel is the ideal and best. After all that is happening, shouldn't we make a serious, honest and responsible assessment in order to defend our people and our Palestinian cause? Shouldn't we discuss how to manage this conflict with the Israeli occupation?" He also said that there should be one Palestinian government controlling the Palestinian homeland and that the Palestinian Authority was ready to rule Gaza after the war.
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