The Palestinian independence movement Hamas is ready to give up administrative control of the Gaza Strip, but has made it clear that it will never surrender its weapons. In an exclusive interview with the US media outlet CNN on Thursday (September 25), senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad made the announcement.

He said, “We have no problem leaving the Gaza regime. We are ready for this.” However, he stressed at the same time, “Hamas cannot be excluded from the Palestinian question and situation, because Hamas is playing a positive role.”

Ghazi Hamad also noted that the weapons of Hamas’ armed wing are “legal and legitimate,” which will be used to resist the occupation. In his words, “We will never surrender.”

Hamad blamed the United States

He said that the negotiation process is currently at a complete standstill. Hamad blamed the United States for the impasse, saying, “They have failed to prove themselves to be honest and impartial mediators.”

Recalling the attack

Incidentally, on September 9 of this month, six people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Hamas leadership in Doha. One of the dead was the son of a leader of the organization and a member of the Qatari security forces. Ghazi Hamad was among the few survivors of that attack.

Despite the signal that he would give up control of Gaza, the announcement that he would retain his weapons has raised new questions about Hamas’s future position.