The Palestinian Diaries: If occupation ends, refugees return, Al-Aqsa respected, justice can be achieved

SHAH ALAM - If the Israeli occupation on Palestinian territories ends, Palestinian refugees return to their homes, the first Muslim qibla, Al-Aqsa is respected, justice and peace could be achieved.

Asia Middle East Centre for Research and Dialogue (AMEC) director Dr Muslim Imran said this during Sinar Daily's 'The Palestinian Diaries' podcast.

He said in 2006, Hamas was elected in Gaza and the West Bank.

“An election was held and they won an overwhelming majority and were able to form a government, but due internal Palestinian differences and external Western pressure as well as rejection of the result of our elections and democracy, things developed and now we have some sort of a political polarisation and division within the context," he said.

He said Hamas was a political movement with hundreds of thousands of members, encompassing various civilian institutions such as educational and social welfare institutions, the media and the political bureau, among others.

However, it maintained an armed wing due to the shared experience of living under occupation like other Palestinian political factions, whether socialist, nationalist, or Islamist in order to counter the Israeli occupation.

“Hamas following this Palestinian tradition has its own military wing, the Qassam brigades, which for the past two decades has been building its capabilities to counter Israeli aggression and attacks in the case of Gaza because Hamas has been governing the party in Gaza for almost 16 or 17 years," he said.

He added that the Palestinian resistance fighters have been able to enhance their capabilities further due to the conducive environment.

However, in the West Bank, he said the Qassam Brigades and other resistance factions faced difficulties because of the direct Israeli military occupation.

“You can observe their efforts, but it's evident that the environment isn't as favourable as it is in Gaza.

"Eventually the Hamas movement and leadership, it's a political movement and the whole fight that is taking place is not because Palestinians love to see blood or death, it is because there is a political goal that all Palestinians are aspiring to see which is a free Palestine," he said.

He said if the root cause of the problem which was the Israeli occupation was addressed, peace will certainly prevail.

Muslim said Israel was built upon the Palestinian homeland through genocide, ethnic cleansing and the destruction of 500 Palestinian cities and towns, the killing of thousands, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands which was known as the Nakba.

"So Nakba should be addressed. The few million Palestinian refugees who continue to be in exile is a problem that should be addressed.

"They have to return home regardless of where they are from, from the West Bank or Gaza or inside the 1948 territories, they have to go back home.

"The ongoing Israeli aprtheid policies and restrictions, detention of more than 5,000 Palestinians, the attempts to desecrate Al-Aqsa and divide it, all these problems should be addressed, then we achieve justice," he said.