Palestinian diplomat: Ideology can鈥檛 be defeated with 鈥榖ullets鈥�
Husam Zomlot says 鈥榖allot box鈥�, not the bullet, is only way to defeat ideologies
The chief Palestinian diplomat in the UK says, 鈥測ou cannot defeat ideologies with bullets as Israel is trying to do鈥� in its battle with Hamas.
In an interview with 麻豆社 HARDtalk, Husam Zomlot said, 鈥榶ou defeat ideologies in the ballot, not the bullet, the ballot box. And I assure you the Palestinian people will deliver their verdict.鈥�
Mr Zomlot said Palestinians wanted the chance to elect a government that would 鈥榮end them to prosperity, give them opportunities.鈥� But he said before this could happen, it was imperative 鈥榯hat Israel ends its occupation鈥� and there needed to be acknowledgement of 鈥榓trocities鈥� committed against the Palestinian people long before Hamas was created.鈥�
Hamas militants killed 1,400 Israelis and took almost 200 hostages in an unprecedented incursion from Gaza on 7 October. Israel has struck back at targets in the territory and at least 3,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials. A ground offensive in Gaza is expected imminently.
Mr Zomlot said he believes the current violence 鈥榗ould serve as a wake-up call鈥� and wanted to see the application of 鈥榠nternational humanitarian law鈥� to end the conflict.
Mr Zomlot is the head of mission for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in London. Palestinian political leadership is deeply divided between Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in the West Bank (the largest party in the PLO) and its Islamist militant Hamas opponents who control the Gaza Strip. Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by the UK and many other countries and is not part of the PLO.
