TEHRAN – Khaled al-Qaddoumi, the Hamas representative in Tehran, believes that Iran, Turkey, and Qatar can form an economic and political alliance in the region.

According to Qaddoumi, the region is in dire need of a strong front to resist and reject foreign interventions. 

"Turkey, Iran, and Qatar and all others who want to participate in such front can form an alliance," Qaddoumi tells the Tehran Times.

The following is the text of the interview:

Q: What are the details of a deal to decrease tension between Hamas and Israel?

A: Actually, I prefer not to call it a deal, rather it is a step to enforce the ceasefire, which has been achieved by the mediation of Egypt in 2014. However, Israel always breaches and violates deals and repeatedly breaks its promises. They have never fulfilled any promise they had pledged before. They sign deals, pledge to take actions, and everybody celebrates, but later we face violations. They keep killing and keep targeting the civilians.

Today the resistance front, especially Hamas, besides other brothers in Gaza, exercises its pressure through different means against the Israeli enemy, and we have found that after the people of Gaza have sent all those balloons, have invited all those dignitaries from different corners of the world to mediate for the enforcement of ceasefire between the enemy and us.

Regarding the ceasefire details, I should say that it is not an ideal situation, but this is a victory for our people who have always exercised their right to live in peace like any other nation in the world.

In fact, it was a step to regulate the situation through borders and checkpoints. It is to allow more power supply to Gaza. Today we only have 4 hours of electricity, and in the remaining hours, we have a power cut. We have decided to establish a new electricity plant that is powered by gas.

Therefore, we also are going to get access to medical facilities and get permission for the fishermen to move beyond 12 miles.

This is not the ideal situation we are looking for, but we have achieved a formula that will decrease the violations of deals as Israel targets the civilians, kills them, and bombards them without being punished. If they want calm for their own citizens, they have to think of other people who live on the other side of the land. They (Palestinians) are legal owners of the land but they are suffering; so their lives matter and should be secured. I think we can consider this formula a victory for the resistance movement. 

Q: What is the stance of Hamas towards the normalization of ties between Israel and the Emirates?

A: First of all, we have condemned and still condemning this sort of deal not only between the Emirates and the Israeli enemy but between any country in the region and Israel, because this enemy has to be punished and not to be rewarded. They must understand that they have committed crimes and they should abide by the rules, regulations, and resolutions passed in favor of the victims (Palestinians). We should not go and reward them for killing our kids through normalizing ties with them. This deal simply is a concession given by the Emirates to Netanyahu and Trump, two persons who are suffering a lot of political crises in their own regimes.

Trump today is suffering a total fiasco at all levels; at social and medical spheres, he cannot even deal with the millions who are infected by a virus. He has nothing to offer for the voters in the upcoming election. He thought that he could present himself as someone who could help to secure Israel and create a good record for himself to use in the election campaigns.

On the other hand, the extremist and rightist prime minister of the Israeli regime, Netanyahu, faces a trial in a corruption case, a crisis that disqualifies him to run for the fourth election. Now, his government is the weakest in the history of Israel.

Today this deal may grant him some help to move forward, but this deal is a big mistake committed by the Emirates against our people. It is nothing to favor our people as they claim, and it is nothing even to favor their own people. It is nothing to benefit any country in the region. It is the repetition of Camp David I and Camp David II's bad experience, and today they are making the same mistakes and moving in the wrong path and approach to deal with the conflict and deal with the disaster happening inside the Middle East (West Asia) and Palestine. In fact, Israel, instead of being punished, is rewarded by the normalization of ties. 

Q: Why countries like Turkey, Iran, and Qatar have not formed an alliance to resist the Israeli occupation? Do you expect such an alliance in the future?

A: Yes, I do agree with you. We are in dire need of a strong coalition in the region to repel any threat and reject all foreign interventions; we can stand solid and strong in all areas, including economy, culture, and politics. You are very right that Turkey, Iran, and Qatar, and all others to join such a coalition. It is the right recipe for the dignity and prosperity of the region and Islamic countries.

Nothing should prevent them because they make billions of dollars annually. From an economic point of view, they are successfully managing their trade and economy, but unfortunately, we still haven't reached a common view on the political situation in the region. And I emphasize this point that we absolutely need to move forward together. Because today all of us face the same threat by Israel. Israel is directly involved in the destabilization of the countries you mentioned, collaborating a coup, expanding its soft power in these countries, and smart attacks against different Muslim and Arab capitals. So it is the time to move forward, and I believe that the Palestinian cause can unite all of us regardless of the differences in terms of race or sect.
We can have a consensus on the Palestinian issue, and we are ready to unite all those members and brothers. The only enemy is the Israeli regime.  

Q: How do you evaluate Iran-Hamas relations in the current time?

A: I believe we are enjoying an ideal situation, a very good strategic relationship. Today and after 23 years of relations, we are moving with common understanding to face one enemy, which is involved in many destabilizing activities in our countries, including Iran. The decision-makers in Iran knew, and now they see that we all have the same destiny, and we face the same enemy, and we need to remove it from the region.

This entity is the only cause of instability. Our relations are multi-dimensional today. It is not only at the military level, but it is also at the political level, planning level, and we have a common understanding of many political issues. There are collaboration at the discussion level, meeting level, and this collaboration is also being implemented practically in multi visits between Iranian brothers and us either in Tehran or in the region. I hope that we move towards more proper and more strategic steps in favor of the unity of the Muslim Ummah and facing the common enemy (Israel).