As the Hamas-Israel ceasefire continues, political leaders of the Palestinian group have expressed cautious optimism about the new United States administration’s ability to continue to pressure Israel to the negotiating table, even as President Donald Trump and his team have made widely-condemned claims during his first weeks in office about “cleaning out” Gaza and Israel’s “biblical right” to the occupied West Bank.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Basem Naim, a Hamas leader based in Doha, said the group was “interested to meet with anyone who can help us achieve our goals, which are the goals of our people”. He cited statehood, self-determination, and the right of return for Palestinians who fled or were forced out of their homes after the Nakba in 1948 – when Israel was created on the majority of historic Palestine – or subsequent wars.
