EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Hamas Internal Security head says buffer zone completed

CAIRO – 10 October 2017: Commander of the Hamas security agencies in Gaza, Major General Tawfik Abu Naim, confirmed that Hamas completed construction of the buffer zone a few days ago, indicating that the zone is equipped with barbed wire, surveillance cameras and a control room. He added that there are ongoing arrangements for a press conference to be held on the Egyptian-Palestinian border to expound the security measures undertaken by Gaza to completely secure its border with Egypt.

Major General Abu Naim expressed his gratitude to the Egyptian president, government and people for their sincere efforts in embracing the Palestinian family and uniting the different factions of Palestinians. He stressed that the meetings held by Fatah and Hamas in Cairo were the cornerstone of the reconciliation talks in the coming stages, stressing that Hamas’s dissolution of its administrative committee in Gaza was the first step towards reaching understandings, and that the promptness with which Hamas responded to the Palestinian people’s demands for unity indicates a genuine intention to reach agreements and an imminent closure of this deep wound in the Palestinian body.

He also addressed the Egyptian people, saying that the security forces in Gaza will not tolerate meddling with Egyptian national security, and he added that “we will not allow the slightest negative effect on Egyptian national security, and we will act upon this statement with all our might and endurance. Egypt has been protecting the Gaza Strip with the blood of its soldiers, and therefore we won’t allow that Gaza becomes a headache for Egypt. We will guard our borders and address whatever problems that are impacting this file.” Abu Naim concluded by saying that security apparatuses in Gaza will not allow anyone to sneak into Egyptian lands.

Below is the script of the interview.

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Let’s start from the latest agreement announced in Cairo regarding the initiative Hamas made by dissolving its administrative committee. What do you think of the recent understandings between Hamas and Fatah in Cairo?

First I would like to express my gratitude to the Egyptian president, government and people for their sincere efforts in embracing the Palestinian family and uniting the different factions of Palestinians.

Today the arrangements for ending this painful phase of discord and sedition in the history of Palestinian people are progressing in leaps and bounds under the auspices of the Egyptian government.

The fact that the Egyptian delegation arrived in Gaza even before the Palestinian government did gives us a clear sign of the immense concern that the Egyptian state has for ending the suffering of the Palestinian people. Likewise, we are now making agreements with the Egyptian delegation about the manner with which meetings and arrangements should be approached, and this is a strong sign of the good intentions of Hamas and of the government of Rami Hamdallah, and is also an indication of Egypt’s concern with the situation and its dedication to fostering the agreements and overseeing their execution step by step.


Is the actual activation of the agreement between Hamas and Fatah possible?

The Palestinian optimism with this agreement is different from how it used to be in similar situations in the past. The Palestinian streets welcomed the Egyptian delegation and received it with chants. We tried to find a way to avoid the bustling crowd, but they followed the procession, and this shows how eager Palestinians and Gazan people are to end the division and to consider this phase as history. That is why we believe that hope is still there in the hearts of the Palestinian people, who are thirsty for freedom and national unity.


What are the most significant challenges that the Palestinian government faces?

Palestinians indeed agree that there are three issues that require immediate attention: the employee and salary issue, the electricity issue and the crossings issue. I believe that these three issues really are the most difficult and urgent of all. Resolving these issues will be the cure to the Gazan people, whose ambitions and hopes were denied for 10 years, causing a whole generation to live in deprivation, stress and struggle because of salary delays or suspensions, crossings being closed and electricity outages.


Have you been contacted to coordinate with the Palestinian Unity Government regarding the security in Gaza?

We are building on the work of previous officials on security, and I have only completed what they started. Security is one of the challenging issues, and it is the scale on which stability and proper orientation of the Palestinian people is measured. If it is agreed that everything should go back to normal and these issues should get resolved, there will be a compromise in the security issue, which, despite being one of the sensitive issues, is also one of easiest to resolve and reach an agreement about. Everyone agrees that security cannot be divided, because it is one of the issues that cannot be ignored. Security of the Gaza Strip is security for Egypt, and security of the Egyptian borders is security for Gaza; likewise, the safety of the Gazan citizen is no less important than the safety of a citizen in the West Bank, and this issue is agreed upon in the Palestinian street and inside every Palestinian house.


Is Hamas going to be part of the security system in Gaza? Or is the Palestinian government going to take over completely?

This issue is definitely going to be discussed extensively. The disagreement there is, however, is about the employee issue and not about security. Everyone agrees that security cannot be divided or broken down, and the issue has been thoroughly researched and many key points about it have been agreed on; nothing remains there but implementation.


Tell us about the details of the talks in Cairo.

The talks in Cairo included all of the Palestinian issues, either regarding the reconciliation, security or keeping the borders. What concerns me the most is the issue of security in Gaza and its links to the security of Egypt as seen in the issue of Egyptian-Palestinian borders. In this respect, a number of measures were agreed upon, and they were implemented immediately after our return to Gaza. These were leveling the borderline, building a barricade and barbed wire fence, installing surveillance cameras and lights, removing trees, and building a control room. The steps for these measures were taken shortly after our return and were finalized a few days ago. A press conference announcing and expounded these changes is to be held soon on the Egyptian-Palestinian borderline.


In the first of your moves after returning to Gaza from Cairo you visited the Egyptian-Palestinian border. What is the message you wanted to impart by this visit? And have you taken any new measures to keep the borderline between Gaza and Sinai well-kept?

I can safely say that the security of Egypt and Gaza is one and the same thing. We will not tolerate any harm to Egypt’s national security, as much as we will not tolerate any to the security of the Gaza Strip. We must firmly act upon this statement with all our might and endurance, because Egypt has been protecting Gaza with the blood of its soldiers, and therefore we must not allow that Gaza becomes a headache for Egypt. We will guard our borders and address whatever problems that are impacting this issue.

I hereby assure my brothers in Egypt that we are resolved on keeping relations with Egypt as strong as with a tender mother. Egypt has been and will always be the beacon of freedom and the refuge for Palestinian people in all their struggles with occupation and persecution.

Security in the Gaza Strip and Egypt cannot be divided, and this belief is firmly rooted in the security conception of the Palestinian street; no one can change that or say otherwise.


Have you made an agreement with Cairo regarding security collaboration on the issue of extremists who infiltrate Sinai?

Here in Gaza we will not allow anyone to meddle with the Egyptian national security, and whoever attempts such a breach is going to be trialed according to Palestinian law.


Is Hamas ready to turn in or to take in any of its members should they attempt to sneak into Sinai?

Any skulk will be dealt with by law according to an agreement on both sides. Egypt did not raise a demand regarding turning in wanted members. In case anyone sneak into Egypt from Gaza, or the other way around, we will be the first ones to act according to the law, and we will not tolerate the national security of Egypt or Gaza to be meddled or trifled with.


Did Hamas feel uneasy about the latest incident in Palestinian Rafah, in which a member of the Gaza security forces was killed? And what is your strategy for fighting terrorist thought in Gaza?

This incident is evident of the unwavering intent of the Palestinian security forces to inhibit any attempts of infiltration into the Egyptian lands by delinquent individuals. We are addressing such tendencies both legally and with enlightened thought. The Gaza Strip throughout history has been a cradle of moderate thought, which was spread in the region by the Azhari scholars who graduated from Al-Azhar University and taught many Palestinians across many generations – one of which was myself. The seed of extremism that grew in some Arab countries cannot grow in Gaza, and nothing can permeate Gaza except moderate thought and belief, which is born by the young people and the scholars of Gaza, who are still influenced by the scholars of Al-Azhar. We have moderate scholars who propagate tolerance in their teachings and preaching and who try to save the young people taken by delinquent and extremist thought.


Do you think that young fanatics in Gaza need moderate religious discourse from moderate figures from Al-Azhar?

Al-Azhar graduates in Gaza are still the leaders of the campaign against extremists, who are nothing but a minority because the Gaza atmosphere does not encourage the growth of such thinking, especially that we are preoccupied with the resistance of an enemy who occupies our land. We are different from other Arab countries whose young people have fallen into the trap of extremism, because Gaza is not a suitable environment for it. However, we are exerting efforts on this front using the support of many and according to a clear plan from Al-Azhar and other Islamic scholars to steer the young to moderation and away from “takfiri” (excommunication) thought and bloodshed.


After announcing the Egyptian success in reconciling Fatah and Hamas, is Hamas still going forth with the negotiations with Dahlan, or is it withdrawing?

We are opening our arms welcomingly to all Palestinians and extending our hands to whoever wishes to steer the ship to its right destination – be it the Reform Trend or the Authority in Ramallah. We do not make agreements against the interests of the Palestinian people with anyone, and we collaborate and cooperate with whoever has credibility and an honest vision for the resolution of Palestinian people’s issues.


You spent more than 20 years in the prisons of the Israeli occupation, and you know the pain of captivity quite well. Has Egypt proposed any new prisoner exchange agreements between Hamas and Israel? If yes, what are the details of such an agreement?

I was one of those who were lucky to have been freed because of Egyptian efforts and to smell the sweet scent of freedom in Egypt before entering Palestine after being released. We never forget the years of captivity or our fellow-captives, and we have high trust in Egypt and its capability in handling the negotiations with Israel on this matter. I think Cairo has a profound experience in negotiations with Israel.

Negotiations about Palestinian prisoners and missing soldiers stay behind closed doors, and speaking about it remains confined to small circles. We cannot disclose Egyptian intentions concerning this issue, and we prefer that this card remains in Egyptian hands – not anybody else’s – so that Egypt records one more achievement for the Palestinian people in particular and for the Arab peoples in general.


What message would you send to the Egyptian citizen who fears the possibility of extremists infiltrating the borders from Gaza into Sinai or the other way round?

I tell the Egyptian citizen that the watchful eyes of the security apparatuses in Gaza never blink, and that we have used the aid of surveillance cameras, lights, barbed wire and advanced lines to thwart any damage that could be made by a skulk. I believe that, according to statistics and recent measures, the future is going to be better, and we are apt to exert all the effort we can to inhibit any movement from Gaza to Sinai and vice versa. Besides, security measures on the borders are extreme, and we conduct constant surveillance and make surprise visits to the borders to record our observations so that we can make the right decisions about ending this situation.


One last question: Is Hamas actually serious about ending the division?

Serious and genuine, and soon our delegation will be in Cairo to carry on with the process.