Deputy Chief of Hamas's Political Bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, during an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen aired on August 25, 2023. (Al Mayadeen)

Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Saleh Al-Arouri, stated in an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen that the occupation has made numerous decisions regarding assassinations, targeting many individuals such as the leader Mohammed Al-Dayf, who they attempted to assassinate multiple times and ultimately killed his family.

"The Israeli threat against my person does not change my beliefs and stances, nor will it alter my path by so much as an inch," he said.

"We are believers, and we hope to conclude our lives with martyrdom, which we hold in high esteem, and that is the great victory in our eyes."

The Resistance in the West Bank Proliferates

The deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas explained that day by day the power balance tips in favor of the Resistance and its allies, noting that the most important element of this new equation is the spread of the Resistance in the West Bank.

"The occupation's army has mobilized over 30 brigades in the northern West Bank to neutralize the Resistance, yet it [the resistance] continues to grow more powerful and steadfast."

"The proliferation of the Resistance across the entire West Bank is a nightmare for the occupation, striking panic and fear [within the ranks of occupation]."

Al-Arouri further highlighted that "the Resistance has foiled the policies of the fascist [Israeli] government, such as settlement expansion in the West Bank."

Every Israeli official who adopts extremist policies ends up facing an unprecedented defeat, as was the case with Rabin and Sharon, he added.

Al-Arouri pointed out that the government of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir aims to displace Palestinians from the West Bank, increase settlements, and gain control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

"This extremist government will suffer a resounding defeat, which would lead to their withdrawal from the entire West Bank," he added.

The senior Resistance official also noted that the ruling elite in the occupied territories, which is driven by racism and fascism, will breed internal divisions and ruin the entity's foreign relations. These sources of instability will eventually bring about the destruction of the occupation regime.

"The leaders of the occupation government, with their extremist policies, will cause an all-out war in the region."

"Smotrich desires a major conflict that would allow him to displace Palestinians from the West Bank and the '48 territories. Some in the cabinet are considering actions such as taking control of Al-Aqsa Mosque and dividing it, along with assassinations, knowing that this would lead to a regional war."

Regional War

Regarding an all-out regional confrontation, Al-Arouri affirmed that "the Resistance alliance is prepared and motivated by reason, will, and common interests to partake in a regional war, and the active parties are ready and prepared for it."

"If we reach the point of an all-out confrontation, Israel will face an unprecedented defeat in its history, and we are confident of that."

The battle for liberation in the West Bank is currently on the table, and Palestine has now entered the era of resolving this conflict, as evidenced by the attempts at the Judaization of the West Bank and the deportation of Palestinians, Al-Arouri pointed out. The breakout of an all-out war is inevitable at this point, he continued.

Al-Arouri also reminded of the commitment expressed by the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, when he said that any attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Quds would be met with regional war, and also recalled Sayyid Nasrallah's speech on the liberation of Al-Jalil.

"We are preparing for an all-out war, and we are closely discussing the prospects of this war with all relevant parties."

Furthermore, he added, "The all-out war will be a defeat for Israel, and we see that classical wars have changed, and this is evidenced by the conflict in Ukraine."

Resistance Operations Against Settlers

In regards to the Resistance operations against settlers, the Hamas official stated that the current Israeli plot is centered around increasing the number of settlers in the West Bank, and to confront this plot, it is necessary to strike at its central subject.

"Due to Israeli technological advancement and security cooperation, Resistance cells struggle to sustain themselves. However, the recent developments in the West Bank changed the situation; they are expanding the base of resistance operations and developing goals and means."

Al-Arouri also called on all Palestinian youth in the West Bank to partake in resistance in any way possible.

Furthermore, he added that if an all-out conflict erupts, Resistance forces are capable of closing off the airspace and sea of the occupation regime, leaving them devoid of electricity and communication infrastructure.

Resistance Factions Meeting

"Hamas has adopted the position and decision to keep national dialogues ongoing and to avoid reaching a rupture," Al-Arouri said.

"The meetings between factions do not solve all the problems because we have differences in visions and approaches."

"Hamas has a vision that Resistance is the solution to confront the occupation, but our brother Abou Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] insists on international legitimacy and international institutions and rejects Resistance."

He affirmed, however, that "meetings between different factions alleviate tensions and solve some problems, and we say that the administration in Gaza follows the government in Ramallah."

Al-Arouri addressed the issue of the Palestinian Authority's arrest of Resistance members, saying, "This issue can only be resolved by changing the [Palestinian] authority's approach."

He continued, "The stance of the PIJ in calling for the liberation of the Resistance members is valid, and this is a pertinent problem we suffer from, but we believe that dialogue helps solve this problem."

In regards to prisoner exchange, he pointed out that it remains on the table, but the complications are from the Israeli occupation's end.

"We are ready to conduct a prisoner exchange deal, but the Netanyahu government is not ready yet."

Ain Al-Hilweh Camp

Al-Arouri confirmed that "Hamas had no hand in the events of the Ain Al-Hilweh camp but rather contributed to the ceasefire and preventing escalation to find solutions."

Hamas, he said, spoke with the Lebanese leadership for the purpose of working on a ceasefire.

"Hamas is keen to build better relations with all components of Ain Al-Hilweh camp for the sake of maintaining calm. [However] it does not provide direct or indirect support for anyone in the Ain Al-Hilweh camp."

Regarding the formation of a national unity government, Al-Arouri stated that "there are no understandings or prospects of understanding with Fatah to form a national unity government." "We were offered the formation of a national unity government, and we rejected it unless legislative and presidential elections are held."

Arab and International Stances

The official also discussed relations with Saudi Arabia, saying "From our side, there has been no change in our attitude towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the change occurred on their part in the relationship."

"Our close relationship with Iran is natural, and it remains the same despite the rapprochement or divergence between Riyadh and Tehran."

He further emphasized that building relationships with all countries is in favor of the Palestinian cause.

"Perhaps there are shifts in Saudi Arabia, and we hope that they [the shifts] are in favor of the Palestinian cause and [we hope] that there would be no Saudi normalization with Israel, as rumored."

Al-Arouri noted that the prospect of a Saudi normalization deal with "Israel" would be different from the normalization of any other country because Saudi Arabia holds de facto religious legitimacy by hosting Islamic sanctities, and a normalization deal would entail a recognition of "Israel's" authority over the Islamic sanctities in Al-Quds.

Regarding relations with Syria, Al-Arouri said, "There was a disruption in the relationship with Syria, and Hamas' stance towards Syria remains unchanged. We do not interfere in internal conflicts."

"We wanted to correct the disruption in the relationship with Syria. There are current bilateral meetings, and we have not received any negative messages from Syria." He added that he expressed his hopes that the process of reestablishing relations would proceed well.

Regarding Qatari-Palestinian relations, Al-Arouri said that "Qatar did not reduce the value of the financial grant to the Gaza Strip. Instead, there have only been delays or changes in its dissemination."