Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

Exclusive Interview With Mohamed Nazzal

Turkey will not take part in the drive to punish Palestinian people for their democratic choice As part of Hamas continuous efforts to engage in contacts and dialogue with Arab leaders and officials in order to counter U.S. and European pressures on it, Mr. Mohamed Nazzal, member of Hamas Political Bureau has paid an urgent visit to Cairo.

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Turkey will not take part in the drive to punish Palestinian people for their democratic choice

As part of Hamas continuous efforts to engage in contacts and dialogue with Arab leaders and officials in order to counter U.S. and European pressures on it, Mr. Mohamed Nazzal, member of Hamas Political Bureau has paid an urgent visit to Cairo. Ikhwanweb took this opportunity to have this quick interveiw with him

Ikhwanweb: What is the purpose of your visit to Cairo? What are the most important results of this visit?

Nazzal: The purpose of my visit to Cairo is twofold: on the one hand, we met with Mr. Mohsen El-Nomany, Deputy Director of Egyptian General Intellligence to keep in touch with our brothers the officials in Egypt. Egypt cannot be isolated from its major role regarding the Palestinian issue. At that meeting, we discussed some recent political developments, particularly with regard to the formation of the Palestinian government and the surrounding pressures aimed at causing Hamas to fail and pushing it to an impasse. We also discussed how Egypt could support the Palestinian people.

On the second hand, the visit has sought to conduct some interviews with the press and media.

Ikhwanweb:Does your tour have anything to do with Rice simultaneous tour?

Nazzal:There is no relationship between my visit and her tour. Of course, her tour was one of the points discussed with the Egyptian side, particularly in view of the fact that one of the purposes of Rice visit is to form an Arab and international front to pressure Hamas and the Palestinian people into relinquishing their inalienable rights and attitudes and to bring Hamas down.

Ikhwanweb:Following your meeting with El-Nomany you declared that you told him that Hamas would deal with flexibility and realism. What do you mean by that?

Nazzal: To begin with, Hamas’s policy is consistent in dealing with the invariable Palestinian attitudes. Flexibility and realism do not mean concessions. Flexibility does not mean relinquishing the invariable attitudes and realism means dealing with the actual state of affairs in a way that serves that our policies and national invariable attitudes.

Ikhwanweb:There have been lately some statements by leaders of the Hamas movement purporting that there is a promise in principle from Fatah to take part in the upcoming government. Is that true?

Nazzal:First of all, we are seeking to form a national unity government that comprises all Palestinian factions and of course we invite our brothers in Fatah to participate in that government, which will be a government for the entire Palestinian people. So far, there are no firm assurances concerning Fatah’s participation in the upcoming government. As far as we know, our brothers in Fatah will meet on March 14 to study the subject of participation in that government.

Ikhwanweb: How is the relationship between Hamas and the Jordanian government? Is there a mediation to solve the outstanding problems between them?

Nazzal:There is no mediation. The relation between us and the Jordanian government need no mediator. But unfortunately it is unclear whether or not the Jordanian government will accept a visit by a Hamas delegation. It is to be recalled that a date for a visit was agreed upon some time ago but we were surprised to know that the visit was cancelled.

Ikhwanweb: What is the outcome of Hamas’s visit to Turkey and why it was emphasized that the meeting with Abdullah Gul was held in his party capacity and not in his official capacity?

Nazzal: For us, it does not matter whether the meeting with held with them as a party or government. All what counts to us is the fact that we met with officials in the Turkish Government who promised us that Turkey would help and support the Palestinian people and will not associate itself to any move to punish them for their democratic choice.

Ikhwanweb: What is the outcome of the tours of Arab and Muslim countries made by Hamas’s delegation?

Nazzal: Thanks to God, the tour that so far has included six stops has proved successful. There is full understanding by all parties visited of the need to support the Palestinian people and not to punish them for having elected Hamas. All those parties have affirmed the continued support for the Palestinian people and government.