Hamas reacts to Trump’s 2024 election win as Palestinians implore him to keep his promise

Hamas has warned Donald Trump that he will continue to “resist” the Israeli occupation as the terror group called on the president-elect to “work seriously to stop the war” in the Gaza Strip.

Trump, 78, expressed support for Israel’s fight to destroy Hamas in the Palestinian enclave but said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must complete the job as quickly as possible.

He reportedly even asked Netanyahu, a Trump ally who was widely seen as advocating his return to power, to end the war with his inauguration on January 20.

The Palestinians, who have been at war with Israel for more than a year, have expressed fears about Trump’s return to the White House and warn that it could be “a new disaster in the history of the Palestinian people.”

However, they are also pleading with him to keep his promise to help bring peace to the Middle East.

Hamas said the US elections were a matter for the American people, but called for an end to the US’s “blind support” for Israel.

“We urge Trump to learn from Biden’s mistakes,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said after Trump’s victory was announced early Wednesday.

Abu Zuhri also said Trump would be scrutinized for his claims that he could stop the war within hours of taking office as US president.

Trump, who has expressed a desire to end the war, is believed to have asked Netanyahu in July, when the Israeli leader visited him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to end the war in time for his inauguration.

Hamas said in a statement Wednesday morning that the new Trump administration must “work seriously to stop the war of genocide and aggression against our Palestinian people” in the Gaza Strip and “stop the aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people.” Fox News reported.

They called on him to “stop providing military support” and “political cover” to Israel, which they called a “Zionist entity,” and to “recognize the legitimate rights of our people.”

‘() The new US administration must realize that our Palestinian people will continue to resist the hated (Israeli) occupation and will not accept any path that diminishes their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, self-determination and the establishment of their own independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem. as its capital,” the terrorist group added.

Hamas also said they believe Trump “must listen to the voices that have been raised by the American public for more than a year regarding (Israeli) aggression in the Gaza Strip.”

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival, congratulated Trump on his election as US president. He said he would work with the new administration to achieve regional peace.

“We will be steadfast in our commitment to peace, and we are confident that the United States, under your leadership, will support the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Abbas said in a statement.

However, Palestinian residents are not so optimistic, with some expressing concerns about Trump’s victory in the elections.

Abu Osama, who was forced to flee his homes as a result of unrelenting Israeli bombing, called Trump’s victory “a new catastrophe in the history of the Palestinian people.”

“Despite the destruction, death and displacement we have witnessed, the coming events will be more difficult and will have political devastation,” he told reporters in Khan Younis.

Some Palestinians said they didn’t see much difference between Trump and defeated candidate Kamala Harris, but Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during his first term showed he was more biased toward Israel.

“We Arabs and Palestinians will not be naive enough. We will have to deal with him as an enemy. We have to determine who the enemy is. They are enemies,” said Khaled Dasuso, a grocery store owner in Khan Yunis.

Meanwhile, some maintained some hope.

“I think (Donald) Trump, if he wins, what he will do is he promised the Muslim people of America to stop the war in Gaza. “We hope it will happen,” said Gaza-based engineer Mohammed Barghouti.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in the Gaza Strip, with much of the area reduced to desert, according to the enclave’s health authorities.

According to Israel, the war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Efforts by the United States and Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have so far failed to produce a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would end the fighting and lead to the release of Israeli and foreign hostages in the Gaza Strip, as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

President Joe Biden’s administration provided Israel with unwavering diplomatic support and military assistance even as Secretary of State Antony Blinken worked on ceasefire proposals. Trump’s future policies are unclear, although he supported Israel in his previous term.