Leftist MKs, the EU, and the US have encouraged Israel to work with the new Palestinian Authority (PA) “unity” government, claiming cooperation is the “only way” to end the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, disproved this on Thursday, stating that the “Palestinian people” still openly support terrorism.

The official explained in an interview with the Gaza-based Al-Quds Press that the PA unity government has no political platform, and has set specific goals regarding ​​domestic policy, such as the release of terrorists, removing the “siege” from Gaza and improving the economic condition of the “Palestinian people.”

Badran also stressed that Hamas has not changed its position on the conflict with Israel conflict, which still relies on an “armed struggle.”

“We believe that the majority of the Palestinian people still believe that the way to freedom is to fight,” Badran said. 

The US and EU have largely predicated its willingness to “work with” the new unity government on the misnomer that the government does not actually include Hamas politicians. 

Despite this, Hamas announced that any “unity” government would be unequivocally subject to their approval before being established – and analysts say that both Hamas “ministers” and Islamic Jihad terrorists are expected to join the government soon. Indeed, three Hamas-backed ministers were sworn in to the new government from Gaza via video feed.

Hamas’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel, and at least one top official has ruled out the possibility that Hamas will recognize “the Zionist entity,” even after the unity pact with Fatah.

Another official, Salah Bardawil, stated clearly several weeks ago that Hamas’s policies obviously support terrorism – despite the supposedly peaceful facade of a “unity” pact with Fatah.

“Hamas’s platform is known to everyone and is not unambiguous,” Bardawil said. “Any referral to handling the Palestinian issue through peaceful means implies the cleansing of Palestine from foreigners who entered in 1948, before and after this time.” 

“All those (foreigners who came to Palestine) must return to where they came from, and then we will extend our peace,” he continued. “We are not hostile, only who attacked us and stole our land. So we understand the meaning of the word ‘peace.”