Israel rejects peace, and Hamas is not just militant group: Omani scholar

By Faruk Hanedar and Tufan Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - An Omani scholar of Islamic area studies said the Israeli government is closed to any kind of peace proposal in Palestine, stressing that Israel does not want a single-state solution where Palestinians would be accepted as part of Israel.

Abdullah Baabood, a nonresident senior scholar at the Beirut-based Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and a visiting professor at the Faculty of International Research and Education at Tokyo’s Waseda University, told Anadolu that the Arab and Muslim world has not protested Israel’s offensive and blockade of Gaza strongly enough, and some Arab countries secretly support Israel.

Palestinian group Hamas is not only an armed resistance group but also an ideology, said Baabood.

He said this armed resistance against occupation is in line with international law and stressed the need for a greater and collective opposition to Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza.

- 'Israel doesn't want to be part of the region, it wants to divide and control'

Baabood said that that unfortunately there is no consensus among Arab countries on Israel's attacks and cruelty towards the innocent people of Gaza, who have faced almost constant bombardment since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Some countries support Israel's ruthless attacks and genocide against the Palestinian people, hiding the truth from the public, he said.

He called Israel's stated aim to eliminate Hamas futile, adding: "(Israel) can’t eradicate Hamas. Because Hamas isn’t just a military group. It's an ideology. It's a resistance movement. You can’t kill resistance when you’re occupying their own lands and their own countries and putting them under blockade and controlling their lives."

Stating that Israel is against any kind of peace plan, Babood explained: "Israel can live in peace and can integrate within the region if it is to accept being part of the region. But Israel doesn't want to be part of the region. Israel wants to control the region. Israel wants to divide the region. Israel doesn’t want to go for a two-state solution. It's doing everything to stop the two-state solution.

"It's continuing to occupy Palestinian lands that were supposed to be part of the Palestinian independent state. It's doing everything possible so that this two-state solution doesn't work. And at the same time, Israel doesn’t want to have a one-state solution where they accept Palestinians also as part of Israel," he said.

"Israel wants everything and anything, and it's not really a country that wants peace. Because if they want peace, peace doesn't come for free. They have to give in something for peace, and that is they give the Palestinians their own independence over their own land," he added.

Baabood urged joint action and global pressure to prevent Palestinians from experiencing another Nakba, as in 1948, with the founding of the state of Israel, when some 750,000 Palestinians had to flee their homes and become refugees.

- 'Some Arab and Muslim countries support Israel'

Saying that it is unlikely that Arab and Muslim countries will reach an agreement on any sanctions against Israel, Baabood said that some countries are against war, while others specifically support Israel.

He explained: "Some countries are supporting Israel in private, telling the West and telling the US and telling their partners, ‘Go after Hamas, kill Hamas, destroy Hamas’ because they think that it’s the Islamic Brotherhood.

“The problem is, it's not whether it’s Hamas or the Islamic Brotherhood or not. That's not the issue. The issue is, this is a resistance movement against occupation which is allowed under international law to protect itself and to fight against occupation."

Emphasizing that the images of the massacres and destruction caused by Israel are leaving deep impressions on young people, Baabood stated: "This will make it much easier for other radical groups to recruit these young people. Therefore, my concern is that we will see radicalization in the future. This can lead to even more chaos, terrorism, and the like, especially when Western countries, powerful Western countries, stand behind Israel."

Baabood pointed to how China has been strengthening its economic presence in the Middle East in recent years, stating that Beijing, despite being an intermediary between Iran and Saudi Arabia, will avoid getting involved in this issue for some time.

Stating that China is in no hurry to confront the US and is not yet in a position to do so, he explained: "However, while China is dependent on energy, trade routes, and supply chains from the Middle East, it cannot continue to stay out of this. Therefore, China will eventually begin to intervene in the Middle East, politics, and the region."

*Writing by Alperen Aktas