Articles In Egyptian Government Daily 'Al-Ahram' Oppose Disarming Hamas: It Would Enable Israel To Annex Gaza And Expel Its Residents

Memri

17-04-2025

The Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram recently published several articles rejecting Israel's and America's demand to disarm Hamas. The authors claim that this demand is unacceptable because relinquishing armed resistance will prevent the liberation of Palestine and enable Israel to annex the Gaza Strip and expel its residents. They praise Egypt for refusing to include the issue of disarming Hamas in the agenda of the recent Arab summit, call to formulate a comprehensive strategy vis-à-vis Israel combining armed resistance and diplomatic action, and stress the need to inculcate the spirit of resistance in the younger generation in order to defend the Arab homelands.
The following are translated excerpts from these articles:
Egyptian Researcher: Expecting Hamas To Disarm Is Like Expecting A Victim To Turn Himself In To His Executioner
Abd Al-Alim Muhammad, an advisor at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, wrote that Hamas cannot be expected to disarm as long as the occupation continues, and praised Egypt's refusal to include this demand in the agenda of the recent Arab summit, held in Cairo on March 4, 2025. He wrote: "In the recent days, Israel, with the support of the U.S., has focused on the demand to disarm the resistance – in particular Hamas – as a precondition for stopping the war of genocide, starvation and denial of water, medicine and food to the Gaza Strip. This impossible demand involves deceptions and contradictions...
"Expecting the Palestinian people to willingly give up the resistance and the weapons with which they confront the occupation is like expecting a victim to turn himself in to the executioner, a demand that no normal person can [even] contemplate. Disarming the resistance means liberating the occupation of any fetters and giving free rein to its satanic imagination. [It means] letting it do as it pleases to an unarmed people that has been denied [the right] to resist – especially given that the Israeli occupation has a plan to eliminate the [Palestinian] cause, annex the territories and expel the Palestinian people by force…
"It is wrong to sympathize with the demand to disarm the resistance while disregarding the sights of destruction and extermination unless the occupation is over, the land has been liberated and the Palestinian people is allowed to establish its state with Jerusalem as its capital. Egypt was right to refuse to include [the issue of] disarming the resistance in the agenda of the latest Arab summit. The resistance endures and will persist in new versions and equations as long as the occupation exists. The disasters that have befallen the Palestinian people will not be resolved without renewing the resistance…" [1]
Egyptian Columnist: There Can Be No Peace Without Resistance; We Need A Strategy Combining Armed Resistance With Diplomacy
Al-Ahram columnist Sa'id Shalash likewise opposed the demand to disarm Hamas, writing: "Disarming will not bring about the liberation of Palestine, and there can be no peace without resistance. What is needed right now is a comprehensive resistance strategy that combines armed resistance with diplomatic action, [as well as] rebuilding the PLO and uniting the Palestinian military and political efforts. Palestine will only be liberated by combining resistance and peace [efforts]. The occupier will not be [persuaded to] leave through diplomacy alone." [2]
Egyptian Columnist: The Blessed Spirit Of Resistance And Boycott Must Be Fostered In The Hearts Of The Younger Generation
Al-Ahram columnist Wa'el Laithi wrote, in a similar vein, that resistance is a legitimate right and that Gaza will never be liberated if Hamas gives up the resistance: "Resisting occupation is a legitimate right that is supported by international conventions and laws and is aimed at granting peoples their freedom. That is what people fight and sacrifice for… Resistance is a right, no matter the controversies about the [various resistance] factions. Without it the Palestinians will never obtain their rights. Will Gaza be liberated if Hamas gives up the resistance and is exiled abroad? Of course not. On the contrary: Israel will take over the Strip and its residents will be ousted, willingly or by force. The peoples of the world have firmly rejected [Israel's] aggression from the outset, as reflected in the mass demonstrations held in many cities. In addition, the campaign to boycott the products of companies that support Israel has been renewed, and this is an effective weapon if used correctly…
"The spirit of resistance and boycott is a very blessed one that must be preserved and fostered in the hearts of the younger generations so as to strengthen them, in order to protect our homelands from an enemy that aspires to realize the dream of Greater Israel." [3]
[1] Al-Ahram (Egypt), April 5, 2025.
[2] Al-Ahram (Egypt), April 10, 2025.
[3] Al-Ahram (Egypt), April 10, 2025.