HAMAS political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya has accused Israel of potentially using the deaths and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as political capital ahead of its upcoming election.
He said Palestinians would continue to suffer regardless of which Israeli leader or party came to power, arguing that successive Israeli governments had caused suffering among Palestinians.
“Whether this person or that person is in power, or this party or another party, our people have suffered at the hands of all Israeli parties.
“We completely reject the blood, suffering and struggle of the Palestinian people being used as material for the Israeli elections.
“What matters to us is that our people achieve their goals, aspirations and legitimate rights,” AFP cited him telling Qatar-based television station Al-Araby yesterday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a closely contested race to retain power in an election scheduled for Oct 27.
Ahead of the vote, Netanyahu has pledged not to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza and rejected a US-led peace initiative under which Hamas would be prepared to surrender its weapons, although Israel has expressed scepticism over the proposal.
The election will be the first since Hamas led the Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when its fighters attacked southern Israel, killing 1,221 people and taking 251 others hostage.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s subsequent military campaign has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza, while much of the territory’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed and more than 73,900 people have been killed.
Opinion polls indicate former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is among Netanyahu’s strongest challengers. Eisenkot, who previously served in Netanyahu’s war cabinet, later accused the prime minister of failing strategically.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has scheduled legislative elections for Nov 28, which would be the first such vote in two decades, although there is widespread uncertainty over whether they can be held.
Hamas won the last legislative election in 2006, defeating the Fatah movement led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas, 90, has since governed by decree, while the legislature has been prevented from convening. Hamas subsequently took control of Gaza.
Abbas is based in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy.
Khalil said he was prepared to meet Abbas to lay the foundations for a national programme and achieve genuine Palestinian unity.
“If the Palestinian elections are postponed, that step must be made a starting point for reorganising the Palestinian administration,” he said.
Hamas is also working to form an alliance with Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah figure born in Gaza who has acted as an intermediary with the United States over its peace plan. - September 27, 2026
