MOSCOW – Musa Abu Marzouq, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said that Russia wants to provide services in the issue of civilian detainees in the Gaza Strip, and has tried since the beginning of the war to enter this line, but Israel did not welcome the Russian role.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net, Abu Marzouq said that Russia "has provided a great service to the Palestinian people by not describing the resistance as terrorism, and not criminalizing Hamas because of its struggle to liberate its people and return home."
Abu Marzouq, head of Hamas' international and foreign affairs bureau, made the remarks at the end of his visit to the Russian capital, where he met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
He explained that the visit of the movement's delegation came in light of the complex situation in the region, which had to be consulted to discuss and address, adding that Russia has a major role and presence in the Middle East.
Hamas delegation headed by Abu Marzouq (right) met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov (centre) (social media)
Consultation with Moscow
The Palestinian leader explained that Moscow has "a position in support of the Palestinian people in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and therefore we consult on many future issues."
He pointed out that the aircraft carriers that come to the Mediterranean, and the mobilization carried out by Washington in the region by bringing troops from Cyprus, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Britain, "did not come in vain, but to send messages to great powers such as China and Russia, as well as to major regional countries such as Iran."
He added that the consultation with the Russian side came to confront these developments, in addition to what must be done in the future, revealing that there is cooperation to submit draft resolutions at the United Nations for a ceasefire, which was reflected in the vote of 120 countries in favor of the resolution in support of the Palestinians, which only 4 countries voted against.
He also considered that "Moscow has provided a great service to our Palestinian people by not describing the resistance as terrorism, and not criminalizing Hamas because of its struggle to liberate its people and return to the homeland," and that the visit of the movement's delegation was also to thank for this position.
On the humanitarian dimension of the role that Russia can provide, Abu Marzouq pointed out that Moscow wants to play a role in the issue of civilian detainees in the Gaza Strip, and has tried since the beginning of the war to enter this line, but Israel did not welcome the Russian role.
Last week, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said his country was in contact with Hamas to release the prisoners it is currently holding in the Strip.
Abu Marzouq pointed out that there is a Russian willingness to provide a lot of services and aid to the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, "who are being punished by a war of extermination and starvation by the Israeli occupation, due to the closure of all crossings and depriving people of water, medicine and food."
Hamas and the International Alliance
Regarding the strongly worded Israeli statement regarding the Russian Foreign Ministry's invitation to a Hamas delegation to visit Moscow and Tel Aviv's demand to expel the Hamas delegation, Abu Marzouq said, "It is natural in the circumstances of the war between Hamas and Israel that any cooperation with Israel is harmful to Hamas, and any cooperation with Hamas is harmful to Israel, and the movement's position towards the United States and the West was strongly worded and strongly condemned."
Moscow responded to Israeli criticism through Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said last Friday that his country maintains channels of communication with all parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abu Marzouq described Western support for the Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip as "an evil alliance that wants to obliterate the rights of the Palestinian people, and continue to target women and children," adding that "thousands in the Gaza Strip are being killed and thousands of others are still under rubble and rubble, and are being liquidated in cold blood and with American weapons and with the support of Britain, France, Germany and others."
He considered that those who cooperate with Hamas cooperate with justice and seek justice for the underdog, stressing that this is the cooperation that must exist in all countries of the world, because whoever wants to be on the side of humanity must be on the side of the oppressed and not on the side of the oppressor, as he put it.
Regarding the alignments in political positions on the international and regional arena towards what is happening in Gaza, and the assessment of the bloc that has begun to form in support of the Palestinian people, Abu Marzouq said that "regardless of any classifications, the movement seeks with all strength for everyone to align with the Palestinian people and with the resistance, and works to bring the distance closer and strengthen the alliance with the proximity in order to confront the aggression."
He stressed that "Hamas does not play the role of judge when evaluating positions and condemning some of them or objecting to others, but rather wants everyone to stand by the Palestinian people, not judge the actions of others."
"This is what we want at the present time, and therefore we are moving in a wide field, and we see very great support for the struggle, rights and resistance of our people, and Hamas has become stronger with this great support from countries at the regional and international levels," he said.