After a week in which several western countries pledged to recognize a Palestinian state, Hamas is taking a victory lap this weekend, declaring the October 7 massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis the catalyst that helped Hamas achieve recognition on the world stage and vowing never to lay down its arms as long as the state of Israel exists.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Hamas’ senior political official, Ghazi Hamad, said the call for a Palestinian nation by 15 United Nations members at a meeting at New York last week is a direct result of the massacre and capture of more than 250 hostages, of which 50 — most believed to be dead — remain in captivity. 

“The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7. We have proven that victory over Israel is not impossible, and our weapons are a symbol of Palestinian honor,” he is quoted saying. 

Mr. Hamad claims that the October 7 attacks achieved three things — bringing the Palestinian cause front and center for the world, global recognition that Israel is a genocidal state, and realization that Israel can be defeated.  

Mr. Hamad’s interview followed a conference at New York last week by 15 members of the United Nations, who issued a statement calling for a ceasefire and recognition of Palestine next to Israel.

The statement said the members “have already recognized, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognize the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-State solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call.” 

The statement also said the group was determined to work on what Gaza reconstruction will look like the “day after” recognition, which will coincide with “the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the Palestinian governance.” The statement was signed by Andorra, Australia, Canada, Spain, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, and Slovenia. 

Mr. Hamad, who said weeks after the October 7 attacks that “Israel is a country that has no place on our land,” told the Arabic news outlet that Hamas will never surrender its weapons. 

“Surrendering our weapons means the end of the resistance,” he said. “Israel can only dream that we would surrender our weapons to it.” 

He added that it was Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, that has moved the needle on statehood. “For more than a decade, no one spoke with (Palestinian Authority  leader) Abbas about a two-state solution or the establishment of a Palestinian state. All that was offered to the PA was humanitarian aid.”

Separately, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom have indicated that they too will recognize a Palestinian state. British Prime Minister Starmer last week said British recognition of Palestine will come unless Israel lays down its weapons. He later attempted to qualify that statement, saying that a final assessment will be made prior to any final recognition.  That did little to console relatives of British hostages who are concerned that Mr. Starmer’s statement does little to secure the return of the hostages. 

“The structure of the British ‘offer’ would disincentivize Hamas from agreeing (to) a deal. Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?” two lawyers for the families, Adam Wagner and Adam Rose, asked in a written statement. 

“The ‘vision for peace’ which the UK is pursuing, and which the families heard much about last night, may well involve our clients’ family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons,” they added.

As Hamas pressed its public relations war in the West — where tens of thousands of Australians marched Sunday in support of Gaza — leaders of the terrorist organization shared pictures over the weekend of starving hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski. According to the terror group, one photograph shows Mr. David digging his own grave.

The photo drew strong condemnation, including from family members who called it a deliberate starvation campaign by Hamas that is being ignored by global leaders. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, emphasizing a poster displayed of Iran’s Ayatollah Khameini at the march in Australia, said the West, by ignoring Hamas’ complicity,  is working toward its own demise. 

“The distorted alliance between the radical Left and fundamentalist Islam is sadly dragging the West toward the sidelines of history,” he wrote on X. 

Mr. Sa’ar’s foreign ministry reposted a statement on Sunday by Israel’s deputy director general for the UN, Ambassador Amir Weissbrod, who accused the United Nations aid agency, UNRWA, of sending known terrorists into Gaza under the guise of supporting the humanitarian aid trucks that resumed operations last week.

“We can easily see that @UNRWA employes many terrorists from Hamas, some whose names were given to them by Israel even back on 2011,” he wrote. “Any responsible government that doesn’t want that its tax payers money get to Hamas should not fund @UNRWA.”