Palestine Ambassador Abdullah Abu Shawesh accuses Israel of funding Hamas to divide Palestinians and compares global labeling of resistance to colonial-era branding of Bhagat Singh as a terrorist, calling for justice and moral clarity.
As Israel and Hamas reached a long-awaited ceasefire deal in Egypt on Thursday — paving the way for a phased release of hostages and prisoners — the fragile promise of peace in Gaza is once again being tested on the world stage. The agreement, brokered in Sharm El Sheikh after days of indirect talks, calls for the exchange of 47 remaining hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, alongside a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops and a daily flow of humanitarian aid into the devastated enclave.
While negotiators hailed the deal as a first step toward ending the year-long war, Palestine’s Ambassador to India Abdullah Abu Shawesh cautioned in an exclusive conversation with Asianet Newsable English’s Heena Sharma that true peace will remain elusive unless the world confronts what he called “the root causes of the conflict” — occupation, displacement, and international hypocrisy. In a standout moment of the interview, Shawesh accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of bolstering Hamas for political advantage.
Watch: Palestine Ambassador to India Abdullah Abu Shawesh’s Full Interview
From a Refugee Camp to Diplomacy
Born in a refugee camp in Gaza in 1970, Abdullah Abu Shawesh’s story mirrors the collective Palestinian experience — one marked by displacement, endurance and the pursuit of dignity.
“Anyone born as a refugee or in a refugee camp knows how much he is suffering,” the Palestinian Ambassador to India says softly, recalling the early years of his life. His father, he explains, was born in the family’s old village, Berga, located 25 kilometres north of Gaza. “My grandfather, my father, my entire family were descendants from our ancient village Berga,” he says.
Despite the challenges of occupation, Shawesh pursued his education with determination. He moved from Gaza in 1992 and eventually graduated from Birzeit University with a degree in Economics, later completing a master’s and several professional diplomas. His first job — under the supervision of Ilan Halevi, a Jewish adviser to Yasser Arafat — shaped his belief in coexistence. “A Jewish man, but a pure Palestinian at heart,” Shawesh noted.
It wasn’t until 2009 that Shawesh travelled outside Palestine for the first time. Israel had long denied him residency rights in the West Bank, classifying him as an “infiltrator.” “That was the very first time ever in my life to travel to exercise was the meaning of crossing the border flying when I was 39 years old,” he says.
Diplomacy at the United Nations
Serving for eight years at the United Nations, Shawesh witnessed first-hand the paralysis of global diplomacy over the Palestinian question. “In the Security Council, everyone know and I’m not revealing a secret when it came to the Palestinian question. There is the elephant in the room which is the American there and they blocked everything belong to the peace process or anything related to the question of Palestine. America used the veto six times in two years to not stop the war on Gaza.”
He explains that Palestinian diplomats have often been forced to rely on the General Assembly’s “Uniting for Peace” mechanism to bypass American vetoes. “But in practical terms, resolutions make no difference once the United States recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” he laments.
For him, the irony is historical. “But to your surprise, this exact United States of America, which had adopted a resolution in the Security Council calling for or considering the law, declared the Israeli law utterly invalid and non-applicable, stating that it was against international law and calling on the international community not to move their embassies to Jerusalem. Just less than four decades ago, they completely went against the resolution they had adopted and accepted it in the United Nations Security Council.”
On the Two-State Solution and Expanding Settlements
The ambassador remains unwavering in his belief that a two-state solution is the only viable path forward. But he argues that Israel’s settlement expansion has made it increasingly difficult. He highlighted that the two-state solution has been on the international table since 1947, but Israel was built on far more land than initially allocated, leaving the Palestinian state largely unrealized.
“When we started the Oslo process, there were 120 settlements. Today, we are talking about 500 to 600,” he says. “When we began, there were less than 150,000 settlers. Now we are talking about 750,000-plus — most of them terrorist settlers conducting daily attacks against Palestinians.”
He emphasizes their militarization and impunity: “All of them are militarized to the teeth — not civilians. They are running businesses in the West Bank and benefit from support, especially from organizations in America and Europe, including evangelical organizations, to establish settlements. They enjoy privileges and economic benefits.”
On the humanitarian impact, Shawesh notes: “Those terrorist settlers — I want to repeat it — terrorist fanatic Jewish settlers, Messianic settlers, conduct tens of terrorist attacks every day against Palestinians in their isolated villages.”
For him, the two-state solution is not a new invention but an unfulfilled promise. “It was on the international table in 1947 — the same resolution that gave Israel its birth certificate also called for a Palestinian state,” he says. “We accepted to live on just 22% of our historical land. Yet even that remains occupied.”
‘Netanyahu Funded Hamas’
In one of the most striking moments of the interview, Shawesh accuses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of strengthening Hamas for political gain. “The one who supported Hamas, cemented Hamas, financed Hamas, funded Hamas is the current Israeli fugitive from justice — Benjamin Netanyahu,” he asserts.
He explains that Hamas’ consolidation in Gaza was not a product of Palestinian unity but of Israeli manipulation. “Netanyahu himself requested the Qatari brothers to support Hamas — not to help Gaza’s humanitarian situation, but to maintain division between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority,” he says. “He wanted to divide and rule.”
The envoy links this to what he calls Western “complicity.” “The media never gave us the chance to tell our story,” he argues. “They report numbers — 2,000 killed, 5,000 killed, 66,000 killed — but they don’t tell the story of why. The root of the issue is completely different.”
On Hamas, Terrorism and the Definition of Resistance
When asked why the Palestinian Authority does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation, Shawesh draws a controversial comparison. He was accused and hanged to death because they accused him, not you and me accused,” he says. “Two schools of thought existed to liberate India — one led by the great martyr Bhagat Singh and the other by Gandhi. Both were completely opposite, but did Gandhi denounce or declare that Bhagat Singh is a terrorist? No.”
Shawesh stresses the role of classification: “The Palestinian people is still in America classified as a terrorist organization. So it’s a matter of who is classifying us, who is classifying our people. Basically, the word ‘terror’ is not our creation. The word was created by the colonial powers.”
He rejects labeling Hamas without context while condemning the violence on October 7: “We are utterly against what Hamas did on October 7 — 100%. But classification depends on who defines it. Can I provide you with tens, if not hundreds, of videos showing how they used to kill the Palestinian people for fun? Will you dare, sorry to say, will you accept to publish it? Let them bring the videos from October 7 and all the videos since 1948 until today. Let us define what the meaning of terror is.”
He recalls the evolution of Palestinian leadership: “We exercised military resistance long ago. Yasser Arafat himself, the former president, was classified as a terrorist. But now they remove the word ‘terror’ and add another adjective — terrorist diplomat. President Abbas, the signatory of Oslo, the one who accepted to build our state on only 22% of our historical land, was officially declared a terrorist diplomat.”
A Stalled Peace and Western Hypocrisy
The ambassador’s frustration with the international community is palpable. “Thirty thousand sanctions were imposed on Russia,” he says. “But zero sanctions against Israel. Because they still treat Israel as a grumpy, spoilt teenager.”
He calls it a “hypocrisy” that nations continue trading with Israeli settlements while claiming to support peace. “If the international community wanted peace, they could stop trading with settlements tomorrow. They could freeze bank accounts. It would take one phone call, like it did in 1956 when the US told Israel to withdraw from Sinai.”
He stresses the role of political will: “If there isn’t a will, there isn’t a way. Look at history — 1956, France, Britain, and Israel attacked Egypt over the Suez Canal. Israel occupied Gaza and Sinai, but it took one phone call from the U.S. president to make them withdraw immediately. The will existed, and it was done. Today, peace is possible — but only if the international community truly wants it.”
On the Gaza Peace Plan and Disarmament
Asked about the Gaza peace plan proposed by the Trump administration, Shawesh insists that Palestinians are open to “any decent effort” that stops the bloodshed. “We are with any effort that guarantees no child will die from malnutrition, no amputated arm will go without anesthesia,” he says. “We fully endorse any honest plan that ends this genocide.”
He clarifies that the Palestinian Authority supports the disarmament of Hamas — but in a realistic context. “We want one legitimate security force, not an army,” he explains. “We don’t want tanks or nuclear power — just a security force that protects our people.”
On the possibility of Hamas amending its charter to recognise Israel, Shawesh says: “Our official position is that anyone who wants to be part of Palestine’s political future must abide by the PLO’s commitments, including the two-state solution. But we should also ask Israel’s political factions to amend their charters that deny our right to exist.”
‘We Will Not Be Slaves’
Despite decades of occupation and violence, Shawesh’s tone carries defiance rather than despair. “Hope is always there,” he says. “How did you (India) become independent people without hope? How did your ancestors become… 35 to 45 million Indians living their lives, but you became independent because your ancestors saw that light at the end of the tunnel. We are like you. We will not become a slave for anyone,” he says. “We are coping. But again, if there isn’t a will, there isn’t a way.”
For him, the Palestinian struggle is not about religion or revenge, but recognition. “We the Palestinian people have nothing against Israel, nothing against the Jewish,” he emphasizes. “Our own matter, our own conflict, our own issue is the Israeli occupation. We are looking for… our own freedom.”
As the conversation draws to a close, Shawesh reiterates the need for moral clarity from the world. “Anyone who is going to put an end to the Palestinian misery that started November 2nd, 1917… 100% a just and lasting peace, we will endorse it,” he declares. “But just lasting peace — because for Israel, peace is to expel the Palestinian people. We need peace that preserves our identity and rights.”