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Hamas's overseas spokesperson and former Political Bureau Chief Khaled Meshal said Sunday the Palestinian group will not surrender its weapons nor accept foreign intervention in Gaza, pushing back against international pressure for disarmament.
"Criminalising the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept," Meshal said at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Doha.
"As long as there is occupation, there is resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation ... something nations take pride in," he added.
Meshal rejected any external governance of Palestinian territory, stating, "We adhere to our national principles and reject the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or the return of a mandate in any form."
"Palestinians are to govern Palestinians. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule," he added.
The comments came as Israeli forces continued violating the Gaza ceasefire despite its transition to a second phase in mid-January.
While acknowledging the fighting has halted, Meshal said the suffering persists, adding that "the genocide war in Gaza has stopped, but the pains and violations have not ended. In the West Bank, Israel's pressures and violations continue."
"Israel continues its attacks despite the ceasefire," he said.
Since the second phase of the ceasefire began Jan. 15, at least 125 Palestinians have been killed and 272 others wounded, according to documentation by state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) based on official data.
Meshal urged the international community to adopt what he called a "balanced approach," allowing Gaza's reconstruction and the flow of aid to its residents, while warning Hamas would not accept foreign governance.
"The war in Gaza has stopped, but the pains and violations have not ended," Meshal said, emphasizing that Hamas and other Palestinian factions were engaged in broad political mobilization aimed at Gaza's reconstruction and finding solutions to current problems.
He stressed a permanent solution to the Palestinian cause was necessary.
Meshal noted that Palestinian state recognition represented a positive step but would not be sufficient on its own. "We will not accept foreign rule," he said.
"Gaza is for the people of Gaza, Palestine is for the Palestinians, and we want to determine our own destiny," Meshal added.
Hamas's spokesperson Hazem Qasim called on all parties to pressure Israel to allow the Palestinian National Governance Committee to enter Gaza and begin operations.
The committee was designed to manage governance in the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire.
"There is no meaning to speaking of a ceasefire in Gaza when the criminal Israel is increasingly killing Palestinians in different areas of Gaza and continuing its destruction," Qasim said in a written statement Feb. 2.
He accused Israel of escalating violence, dismissing mediators' and U.S. efforts, and gutting the ceasefire agreement's content.
Hamas announced Feb. 2 that the necessary arrangements had been completed to transfer governance to the National Governance Committee.
Meshal emphasized Hamas would not be disarmed while the occupation continued, highlighting a paradox in international demands.
"It is a strange paradox that while Palestinians under occupation are being disarmed, militias like Abu Shabab in Gaza are having their weapons legitimized," he said.
He noted that international public opinion against Israel has increased, particularly on university campuses and social media platforms. Meshal praised Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt for their mediator roles and commended Doha's efforts as important and honorable.
Meshal underscored that Israel poses an existential threat to the entire region, not just through Palestinian occupation. "Israel is our only enemy and with God's permission, we will defeat it," he said.
"We must prove that Israel is an entity that has lost international legitimacy and is isolated," he noted.
He added that Israel's occupation steps in the West Bank pose a major threat to Jordan. "Israel started enmity with Syria and wants to interfere in Syria's affairs," Meshal concluded.
The ceasefire ended an Israeli offensive that began in October 2023 and lasted two years.
That campaign killed nearly 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 171,000 others, while destroying about 90% of Gaza's infrastructure.
Despite the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, the Israeli army has continued to violate it, killing 574 Palestinians and wounding 1,518 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
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