Hamas fears Abbas will end Palestine cause by taking orders from Trump
Palestinian leader Abbas will meet Trump on Wednesday — but Hamas doubts that it'll be a positive step for Palestinians.
Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Khaled Mashal expresses new vision and policy of Hamas during the meeting of the Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar on May 1, 2017.
Hamas has cast doubt on forthcoming peace talks in the US, saying that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas won't gain anything from an upcoming meeting with the Trump administration— but they also hope that the Americans "will re-evaluate their stance towards the Palestinians".
Ihab al Ghussain, spokesperson for the Palestinian group Hamas, told TRT World that Mahmoud Abbas "doesn't represent us anymore because he is cooperating with Israelis".
"We are actually afraid that he is going to take orders from American administration that will end the Palestinian cause," Ghussain said of talks aimed at establishing peace between Israeli and Palestinians. "The declarations that have come from the White House after the elections are not very optimistic for us — they are going to stand by the Israelis," he said.
The new Hamas charter
His assertion came a day after Hamas announced a new political charter that envisages a Palestine with its 1967 borders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office responded, claiming that the new document was a nothing but a "smoke screen" for Hamas policies of continuing war against Israel.
"We will continue our resistance against the occupation," Ghussain told TRT World. "When you look at details, there is no change in the policies."
He said the document did not introduce changes to Hamas, it intended to "clarify how Hamas would function" — and in particular on how the group plans to negotiate with others.
"It's not a fight against Jews. This is a fight against the occupiers. This is a key point. We don't hate Jews. We just want our land back," he said.
Commenting on the Israel's reaction to the new charter, Ghussain said the "world didn't need to hear from the occupier" — but they needed to hear from Palestinians themselves.
"They were only hearing about Hamas before. Now they are going to hear about Hamas from Hamas." he said. "The new charter clarifies that we are part of the world community, not a terrorist faction as some claim."
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