Hamas Calls for 'Immediate' Ceasefire Following Trump’s Election Victory

Hamas Calls for 'Immediate' Ceasefire Following Trump’s Election Victory

A senior Hamas politician has urged Israel to end all its military attacks against Gaza immediately and advocated for the road towards Palestinian statehood after Donald Trump emerged victorious in the U.S. presidential election. In a conversation with Newsweek, Hamas Political Bureau member and spokesman Basem Naim expressed optimism that Trump's government could be on the side of the Palestinian cause.

While Naim admitted it is "a private matter for the Americans," he pointed out that the Palestinians want "an immediate cessation of aggression against our people, especially in Gaza." He appealed to US aid in order to grant Palestinians their "legitimate rights of freedom, independence, and the establishment of an independent, self-sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital."

He also criticized what he termed "blind support" for Israel, saying that such support destabilizes the region and harms the future of Palestinians.

Confusing feelings towards Israel, through the words of Trump

It was during his previous term that Trump was much in support of Israel and was quite close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, recently, Trump opined about Netanyahu's handling of the conflict and demanded a quick resolution of the conflict.

The Netanyahu government is now embroiled in a difficult, multi-arena conflict as opposition does not only arise from Hamas in Gaza but also Hezbollah in Lebanon and various Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. All these started in October 2023, the very next day after a major Hamas-led attack against Israel. Netanyahu and Trump were on almost the same page in most issues until recently with comments made by Trump suggesting that he and Netanyahu have different perceptions over the conflict.

An Israeli official said the alliance between the United States and Israel has weathered both Republican and Democratic administrations and will certainly do so this time around as well. "We look forward to a strong working relationship with his administration to bring about a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous Middle East," the official said.

Palestinian Leaders Seek U.S. Support

Hamas also released a more general statement, including ending "Israel's military escalation against Lebanon" and ending "U.S. military and political support for Israel". The statement attacked American support for Israeli actions in Gaza, appealing to the incoming Trump administration to speak to the American voices calling for a cease to "Zionist aggression.". The statement claimed that the American public was increasingly rejecting what Hamas labeled "occupation and genocide" and bias towards Israel.

The president of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas, saluted Trump and declared his readiness to cooperate in the interest of peace and stability. Abbas underlined his people's solidarity in the adherence to freedom, self-determination, and statehood as defined by international law, according to WAFA, a Palestinian news agency, who expressed his hope that the Trump administration might be moved in the right direction.

Trump's Middle East policies have controversial legacies.

During his first term in office, his policies on Israel and Palestine were very contentious. In 2018, he moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem since the city is disputed among Israelis and Palestinians. Another peace plan, coined the "Deal of the Century," was announced by Trump in 2020 to much criticism from Palestinians because it would entail ceding control of some settlements in the West Bank to Israel and forcing Palestinian factions such as Hamas to disarm.

Of course, while Trump's proposal tried to join the West Bank and Gaza by tunnel and provide investment in the economy, not much interest was gained among the Arab world. Still, it was under Trump that the Abraham Accords occurred, bringing the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco all agreeing to normalize relations with Israel, which proves a paradigm shift in regional affiliations.

It was during this period that tensions with Iran further intensified, after the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and then, of course, Iran's top military official, Major General Qassem Soleimani's, assassination in Iraq in 2020. The Middle East remains very worried about the hard-line approach taken by the Trump administration toward Iran, given the close relationship that Iran holds with Palestinian factions as well as Hezbollah.

Divides Over U.S. Policy toward the Middle East

The Israeli-Hamas conflict has now become an increasingly significant issue in US politics. President Joe Biden had supported Israel and provided military aid while urging the actions to cause the least harm to civilians. He is criticized by both pro-Israel advocates and pro-Palestinian groups. Pro-Israel advocates argue he doesn't do enough for Israel, while pro-Palestinian groups argue he does not criticize Netanyahu enough.

Continuing from the Biden administration, Kamala Harris makes similar campaign statements: she calls for peace but, in the same breath, provides Israel's security requirements while dismissing any cuts in military aid to Israel. Trump takes a position so that he can assert that a strong U.S. military is, in his opinion, the best means of achieving peace.

After the election victory, Trump repeated the same thing by saying that he would have no new wars and would only ensure a "strong defense." "We had no wars [during my presidency], except we defeated ISIS in record time," Trump said in his victory speech. "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

So, with Mr. Trump likely to be returning to the White House, regional Middle Eastern leaders and the American public alike would be watching with bated breath how this new presidency deals with these brewing tensions.