Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a joint, three-part statement on Oct. 10, which in part is a paean to the “triumph” of the Palestinian people in resistance to Israel’s campaign of genocide and displacement against them, an acknowledgment of the work still to be done, and in part a statement of the principles of the resistance going forward.
“What we have achieved represents a political and security failure for the occupation’s plans and a shattering of its goals to impose displacement and uprooting,” it says. It later adds: “The negotiation path and the mechanism for implementing the agreement still require high national vigilance and precise, around-the-clock follow-up to ensure the success of this phase. We will continue to work with high responsibility with the mediators to ensure the occupation is bound to what protects our people’s rights and ends their suffering.
“We have made great and strenuous efforts to release all female and male prisoners and the leaders of the national prisoners’ movement. However, the occupation, as is its habit, thwarted the release of a significant number of them,” the statement noted. “Despite this, we chose to proceed with implementing the agreement to ensure the halt of the war of genocide against our people and to prevent the enemy from continuing its collective extermination.”
The next step, in cooperation with the Egyptians, will be “to hold an urgent and comprehensive national meeting for the next step after the ceasefire to unify the Palestinian position, formulate a comprehensive national strategy, and rebuild our national institutions on the foundations of partnership, credibility, and transparency.”
In the concluding third section, the statement asserts the sovereignty that the Palestinians have always been denied. “We also stress our categorical rejection of any foreign guardianship and affirm that determining the form of governance for the Gaza Strip and the foundations of its institutions’ work is an internal Palestinian matter to be jointly decided by the national components of our people. We are prepared to benefit from Arab and international participation in the areas of reconstruction, recovery, and development support, in a way that promotes a dignified life for our people and preserves their rights to their land.”
