A slight majority, 51%, of Americans between the ages of 18-21 are not only involved in the Palestinian cause, but are active in Hamas "resistance," leader of the terror group Khaled Mashaal said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
"Can you imagine that the Palestinian case entered into the minds of young Americans and Europeans? This is a new division of resistance. In the street, the youth, university campuses, political parties, and countries throughout Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia - there has been a great gain for the Palestinian cause," Mashaal claimed.
Israel's image has also been damaged during this period among that demographic, Mashaal stated. "What happened during the two years for the image of the Zionist entity before the world - this Israel which used to glorify how they are a democratic state and a pioneer for Western civilization in the Middle East reared its ugly head."
"You see it in the international area. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been issued an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. Israel has become a target. It is a killer who committed the crime of a real Holocaust - the massacres," the terror leader accused.
Mashaal reaffirmed his rejection of disarming Hamas's weapons, emphasizing that disarmament is "rejected in the culture of the Palestinian people," because their weapons "represent the spirit of resistance and a means of protecting the people under occupation."
Disarming would be like 'taking out their souls'
Disarming Palestinians would be tantamount to "taking out their souls," he added.
In addition, he alleged that the "real danger comes from the occupation forces [Israel] and not from Gaza."
He noted that Hamas is confident it can convince the Trump administration of its approach, and that mediators are discussing details with Washington.
Mashaal also commented that terrorist's "resistance" and international pressure is the reason that the Israel-Hamas War is ending.
Mashaal: International Stabilization Force must not impose peace
The Al Jazeera interviewer asked Mashaal on his views towards the International Stabilization Force being proposed as part of Phase II of US President Donald Trump's peace plan.
"There are documents talking about their role being to deal with people and remove weapons, in other words, impose peace. This is unacceptable," he stated.
"It's role should be to ensure that there are no clashes, to preserve peace - not impose it," he affirmed.
"As for the general feeling of having international forces within the Gaza Strip, this would result in an occupational power, according to Palestinian culture," he continued.
The only way the ISF could work, in Mashaal's view, is if "they preserve peace by keeping them [the IDF] on their borders so they don't enter Gaza. Entry into Gaza means a transformation of Israeli occupation."
He also discussed how Hamas, along with "our Egyptian brothers" settled on a group of technocrats who would be able to administer Gaza, including eight that are all "capable and represent the diversity of Gazan society," as well as able to receive support from Gazan police forces. "Israel can't achieve that - we have to stop it," he alleged.
World is further from normalizing with Israel, Mashaal alleges
The interviewer also asked whether Mashaal thinks normalization between Israel and the Arab-Muslim world is more distant than it used to be before the October 7 massacre.
"Certainly, unless some people want to hide their feelings and ignore this fierce war against Gaza. Every person with a conscience and a mind would see it's logical. Who dares to deal with the Zionist entity as an ally, or part of a regional system?" he stated.
"Did people not hate what happened in Egypt and Jordan? What did they get from normalizing. The general opinion is against normalization," he argued.
The Trump administration is trying to push for normalization through the Abraham Accords in order to "save Israel from itself," and "save its reputation," he alleged.