Abu Obeida Interview

Below is a translation by Resistance News Network of an exclusive interview with Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, published by Safa News Agency at 9 AM Al-Quds time on December 18th, 2022:

Abu Obeida: The decision to increase the number of soldiers captured by Al-Qassam is under implementation, "and the enemy will regret it."

The spokesman for the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas confirmed that the decision to increase the number of captured soldiers held by the Brigades "is still valid and under implementation," stressing that "the enemy will regret" its intransigence in completing a new prisoner exchange deal.

"We believe that the enemy will regret its intransigence (regarding the prisoner deal), and our options are open," Abu Obeida said, during a press interview on the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Hamas movement, which was simultaneously published by media institutions and news agencies, including the "Safa" agency.

In June 2021, Deputy Chief of Staff in Al-Qassam Marwan Issa revealed that the Brigades sought during the recent battle of "Saif Al-Quds" to "increase their yield in the issue of liberating prisoners" from the occupation prisons.

Addressing the prisoners, Abu Obeida said, "You are a priority that cannot be contested by a priority, and the decision to liberate you and loosen your chains is irreversible, and your brothers in the leadership of al-Qassam and the resistance spare no effort, time and planning for your freedom, for your freedom is a debt and a decision."

And the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, said during his speech at the 35th anniversary festival of his movement, that: “If the occupation continues to procrastinate regarding the file of prisoner exchange, we will find another way to free our captives."

West Bank, Al-Quds, and the occupied interior

Regarding the escalation of resistance in the occupied West Bank, "Abu Obeida" explained that "Al-Qassam sees this extended and escalating resistance movement as the natural state of response to aggression and the establishment of the next liberation stage."

He continued, "We look with great appreciation for our youth and our people in the West Bank as they write heroic epics that all honorable people stand before with respect, reverence, and pride. We see that this movement is the most important during the last fifteen years, and it will have strategic repercussions on the future of the zionist entity."

Regarding the threats of the occupation and settler leaders to increase the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to control it, Abu Obeida stressed that "these threats are serious and indicate the nature of the criminal structure that came to power in the entity."

He stressed that this "requires a state of alert for our people and our nation to protect the journey of their Prophet from this miserable fragmentation," adding, "But with God's help, magic will turn against the magician, and this criminality and this inclination to the great extremism experienced by the entity will be the beginning of its demise and its destruction at the hands of the stationed believers and the resistance."

In a message to young men in the West Bank, Al-Quds, and the occupied Palestinian interior, the spokesman for Al-Qassam said: "Continue to escalate the resistance, as we are facing a battle of existence, truth, history, and future. Victory is but an hour of patient perseverance. If martyrs are planted despite the pain, a revolution and a real victory will sprout."

He added, "We tell them that your heroic, qualitative, and renewed work a terrifying nightmare for the occupier, so surprise your enemy and go out to him from where he will not expect; you will find your resistance and your battalions according to your best expectations and more."

"Saif al-Quds" and Gaza

Regarding the effects of the "Saif al-Quds" battle, which was launched by al-Qassam in May 2021 and lasted for 11 days: In response to the violations of the occupation in Al-Aqsa Mosque and AlQuds, Abu Obeida indicated that "it is clear that the battle constituted the detonator that blew up latent energies and removed the ashes from burning embers in the occupied West Bank, Al-Quds, and occupied Palestine ('48), and it was an inspiring model."

He stressed that the words of the occupation army minister, Benny Gantz, about Hamas recording an "achievement" in the battle, leaving it an "open wound in 'israeli' memory," is "part of what the enemy's military leadership acknowledges and recognizes."

Abu Obeida said that this "confirms the correctness of the decision of the leadership of the resistance and al-Qassam to wage and manage this battle, and confirms the depth of the wound and the impact left by this blessed battle on the memory and awareness of the occupation."

Regarding Al-Qassam's response to the continuous threats of the occupation to launch a large-scale aggression against the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida contented himself, saying: "The occupation will see a response in the event of any foolish act."

He stressed that the security battle and the "Struggle of Brains" waged by the Brigades against the occupation "does not stop, and its tools vary," pointing out that Al-Qassam made "achievements over time."

Forcing Equations

In a related context, Abu Obeida stressed that our people are in a stage of liberation, and that "the battle with the occupation is long, protracted, and complex, with multiple fronts, mechanisms, and means." He added, "We have been engaged with our people in all its spectrums of resistance for decades; our people, with their steadfastness, have imposed and are still imposing equations of strength, defiance, and challenge to the occupier.

Regarding resistance and a-Qassam, he explained, "there are equations that have been formed in recent years—thanks to God, and thanks to the steadfastness of our people, their sacrifices, and the able management of the Qassam leadership and the resistance—to battle with the occupation."

He said, "Among the most prominent of these equations is making Gaza a forbidden land for the occupier, as well as empowering Gaza as a base for military action, armament, and preparation for all kinds of resistance. This leads to the consolidation of equations linking the act of resistance to major national issues such as the issues of Al-Quds and the prisoners."

Al-Qassam's Evolution

Abu Obeida talked about the milestones that Al-Qassam experienced, which constituted a quantum leap in military action. He noted that it began with "the important and strategic pangs of establishment in the eighties and nineties of the last century, the most prominent of which were the models of Imad Aqel and Yahya Ayyash."

Also among the milestones was "the launch of local military industrialization early in the 1990s, and the Al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada), which constituted a quantum leap in military action in terms of manufacturing and preparation, in addition to qualitative operations throughout the entirety of Palestine between the years 2000 and 2005, which ultimately led to the defeat and expulsion of the zionist enemy from the Gaza Strip."

This stage was followed by the stage of "establishing organized resistance military action in Gaza in terms of institutionalizing the military apparatus, developing work tools and mechanisms, and combat organization. The work during this stage led to decisive and important battles with the enemy, in which Al-Qassam imposed the rules of engagement, strengthened the presence of the resistance, and accumulated its strength between the years 2005 and 2022. This stage includes Operation Dispelled Illusion when the IOF soldier Gilad Shalit was captured on June 25, 2006, and the “Promise of the Free” prisoner exchange deal on October 18, 2011, according to Abu Obeida.

On the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Hamas movement, Abu Obeida confirmed that "the Brigades today constitute the nucleus of the liberation army that cannot be ignored, and have become a challenging figure in the equation of the struggle with the enemy. The Brigades stand on solid ground as a force for our people, a safety valve, and a raised sword in the face of the occupation. [The Al-Qassam Brigades] are a spearhead in the march of our people and our nation towards liberation and return.”

He stressed that "jihadi resistance action in all its forms, the forefront of which is military action, is the top priority of the Hamas leadership." He added, "By the grace of God, Hamas, 35 years after its inception, firmly maintains its strategic line from the time it was launched. This line is resistance, accumulation of strength, and activation of all possible resistance tools as a liberation movement in the face of a hateful occupation."

He explained that "Al-Qassam operates according to a hierarchical combat organization, starting with commanding brigades and staff," noting that "the field forces consist of brigades, battalions, companies, factions, and groups, up to the fighter in the combat formation."

He added, "The staff includes: the operations corner, the weapons corner, the military-industrial corner, the intelligence corner, the manpower corner, and the home front corner." He continued, "In every corner and field formation, the weapons and specializations that fall under this organizational structure branch out, such as for artillery weapons, anti-armor weapons, navy, air force, engineering force, sniper weapons, signal weapons, military media, elite forces, tunnel units, military medical, mobilization, among others."

The Joint Room of Operations

Regarding the Joint Room of the military wings of the resistance factions in Gaza, Abu Obeida said: "There is no doubt that its establishment set a precedent in the history of modern resistance". He noted, "The sense of the unity of the forces of our people, the resistance, and the military wings of the factions—the unity of purpose, destiny, and the unity of blood—is what facilitated its establishment as an important national achievement

He stated that "the environment provided by the leadership of Hamas and Al-Qassam for the resistance in Gaza has established the importance of this coordinated and harmonious action among the resistance forces with all their different organizational backgrounds." He pointed out that "our partners and comrades-in-arms in the Joint Room contribute to the development of its work mechanisms in order to achieve efficiency and the correct assessment in managing the battle with the occupation."

Arab and Islamic support and Normalization

In his message to the Arab and Islamic world, Abu Obeida said, “The issue of Palestine, Al-Quds, and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the blatant violation and aggression it is exposed to, is a dagger in the necks of every person with knowledge, word, and influence. The duty of today is to defend the journey of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and his ascension.”

He added, "The people of the frontiers in Palestine work day and night for the dignity of this [Arab and Islamic] nation in the face of its sole enemy, and they establish the duty of jihad, which unfortunately the majority of the rulers in the Islamic countries have renounced. So be for your brothers, the mujahideen and resistance fighters, a support and shield. Sharpen the swords of your pens in the direction of the most important battle. Direct the latent and great energies of this nation toward Palestine and toward the battle to uproot this malignant disease from the heart of the nation instead of strife, discord, division, and side battles that only made our [Arab and Islamic] nation weaker and weaker. Such only gave time to our enemies to reach a dangerous stage of violating the most sacred sanctities of our nation.”

Regarding official normalization by some Arab countries with the zionist entity, Abu Obeida indicated that Al-Qassam "is very reassured that the peoples of our [Arab and Islamic] nation and its living forces do not include recognition or normalization with this abominable occupying entity."

He pointed out that "the masses of our nation have conveyed their message to us and to the whole world in all forums, events, and arenas, that this occupation is coming to an end and has no place in our land or in the consciousness of our peoples."

He believes that "the desperation of some regimes to integrate this entity into the consciousness of our nation, its present, and its future is a losing battle and a great risk, which will only result in the curse of history and the disgrace of time."