Hamas Leader claims Oct. 7 attack drove European support for Palestinian statehood

Ghazi Hamad: “We [Hamas] are the ones who brought the issue back to the forefront, and that is why all the countries are starting to recognize a Palestinian state.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hamas senior official Ghazi Hamad cited the Oct. 7 massacre as the reason European countries like France, the UK and Germany are now taking steps to recognize a Palestinian state.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Hamad said countries around the world are supporting a Palestinian state because of the terror group’s “resistance and the blow we dealt to Israel.”

“Without our weapons, no one would be looking in our direction,” Hamad said during the interview.

He said Hamas’ actions were superior to those of the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, and added, “For more than a decade, no one spoke with Abbas about a two-state solution or the establishment of a Palestinian state. All that was offered to the PA was humanitarian aid.”

“We [Hamas] are the ones who brought the issue back to the forefront, and that is why all the countries are starting to recognize a Palestinian state,” he said.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that he would recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. Security Council meeting in September. The United Kingdom followed suit, reversing its previous policy but framing the move in the context of an ultimatum to Israel to end the war in Gaza or face recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that if negotiations for a two-state solution do not begin soon, Germany would make a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that the move toward state recognition for the Palestinians rewards terror and impedes negotiations to bring the hostages back.

Hamas on Saturday denied reports that it would disarm, vowing to retain its weapons “as long as the occupation exists” and attacking U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff for visiting a Gaza aid distribution site.

The group said its armed campaign would continue until Palestinians achieve “national rights,” including an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. The statement rejected media accounts quoting Witkoff as saying Hamas had agreed to demilitarize.