PLO official says Hamas not a terrorist organisation and rejects calls for disarmament
Azzam al-Ahmad, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has said that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation and rejected calls for its disarmament, revealing plans for dialogue on the movement’s possible inclusion in the PLO.
In an interview with Egypt’s Al-Shorouk newspaper, al-Ahmad addressed key political issues facing the Palestinian leadership, including the future governance of Gaza, relations between the PLO and Hamas, and international pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority.
The senior Palestinian official, elected to his post last May following the appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as Vice President of the Palestinian Authority, said discussions would soon begin regarding Hamas’s potential membership in the PLO framework.
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Al-Ahmad strongly criticised American proposals linked to reforming the Palestinian Authority, describing them as “impossible” and harmful to Palestinian national identity. He said the conditions included demands to amend school curricula by removing symbols such as the Palestinian map and flag, which he dismissed as unacceptable.
Commenting on the events of 7th October, al-Ahmad described the attack as a “strategic mistake”, arguing that Palestinians had paid a heavy price in terms of casualties and destruction.
He also criticised the broader Arab response to the war, stating that, aside from Egypt and Jordan, Arab states had largely failed to take effective action to prevent the displacement of Palestinians from their land.
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