Hamas leaders say they are ‘ready’ to talk with Trump. Do they trust him?

As a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel holds, leaders of the Palestinian political organization are expressing cautious optimism about the ability of the new US administration to pressure Israel to return to the negotiating table. This comes despite President Donald Trump and his team making widely condemned remarks early in his term regarding a “cleaning up” of Gaza and Israel’s “biblical rights” to the occupied West Bank.

Basem Naim, a Hamas leader in Doha, stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that the group is "interested in meeting with any party that can help us achieve our goals, which are also the goals of our people.” He referred to statehood, self-determination, and the right of return for Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 “Nakba” (the establishment of Israel in much of historical Palestine) or subsequent wars.

Naim indicated that this includes the Trump administration. “If there is an opportunity to meet with any party, including the Trump administration, to discuss in detail how we can achieve these goals, I don’t think there will be a veto or disagreement within Hamas.” He added, “In politics, it is not a matter of liking or disliking someone, but the interests of all parties.”

Naim's comments echo similar sentiments expressed by senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook in a January 20 interview with The New York Times. Abu Marzook stated that the group was “ready to talk with the United States,” and praised Trump as “a serious president” who brought an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. These comments appear to be a probe by Hamas to the US administration, which they hope will take a tougher stance on the conflict, even as the US remains a staunch supporter of Israel.

Naim welcomed Trump’s role in the ceasefire negotiations that stalled under President Joe Biden and expressed confidence in the agreement's continued viability. “We are committed to this agreement and are doing our best to give this agreement a chance to succeed,” he told Al Jazeera. He also noted that the strategic alliance between the US and Israel is “so strong that we do not see any serious divisions between the Republican and Democratic parties.”

“Nevertheless, we still hope that this administration can make a change and shift the US attitude towards the Palestinian issue in a new way,” he added. “If this happens, I believe we are ready to cooperate with any party that is willing to do so.” Naim may have expressed cautious optimism, but he also voiced concerns about Trump’s long-term plans, noting that Trump's nominee for US ambassador to the UN, Elise Stefanik's comments about Israel having “biblical rights” to the occupied West Bank were “disappointing” and “dangerous.”

He warned that the situation in the West Bank is extremely volatile, with deadly Israeli raids and settler violence reaching new intensities after the Gaza ceasefire. “We are talking about a very aggressive, extremist political group,” he said. “If there is no action from above, especially from the United States, from the Trump administration, I think it is just a matter of time before we see the next eruption.”

“As it stands, the change in the US helped to reach a ceasefire agreement,” he added. “President Trump made it clear that he wanted to see this war end before his inauguration day, and he put pressure on the situation to end this war.” But Naim expressed deep unease at Trump’s apparent support for Israel seizing more land in the occupied territories and the prospect of formally annexing the West Bank. “In terms of long-term strategy… if we are seeking stability, security, and prosperity in the region, I think this is very dangerous.”

“If Trump is planning to stand firm on the promises that he made, that he wants to see all of these wars end and that he is seeking peace, stability, and normalization, I believe he and his team realize that wars in the region are not conducive to these goals,” Naim added. “If he really plans to achieve stability and security in the region and focus on other issues, he has to put pressure on Netanyahu and his racist government and coalition to stop this madness, to stop them from acting like a rogue state or a state above the law.” “I personally think he will do that,” he added.

Sultan Barakat, a political analyst and professor of public policy at the Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, told Al Jazeera that Hamas has proven its resilience during the 15-month war, despite Israel’s all-out attempts to eliminate it. “They are not going to go away,” Barakat said, adding that this makes the group a continuing political reality that Trump cannot avoid.

Hamas acknowledges the decisive role Trump played over his predecessor, while also understanding that his administration does not necessarily mean an improvement in the situation. “It is not to say that he is going to be more sympathetic to the Palestinians. But I think they see the change that he brought when he came to the negotiations, and the pressure he was able to apply,” Barakat said. “In the 15 months under Biden, they got a lot of promises and a lot of red lines that were crossed by Israel without any consequences.”

“They do see him as a serious person who says ‘stop’,” he added. “But it does not mean he is going to side with the Palestinians.” Barakat emphasized that there have been moments in the past when Hamas felt optimistic about US policy towards Palestine, including in 2017 when the group amended its charter, removing language that explicitly called for the destruction of Israel.

But the US “let them down,” Barakat added. While the current ceasefire is a first step, he added that the second and third phases of agreements regarding the reconstruction and governance of Gaza remain unclear. Nonetheless, Trump was able to break the deadlock. “Under Biden, they reached the lowest level that a world leader could reach. Not just the Palestinians, I think everyone involved in the process felt the same,” Barakat said. “He put forward many red lines, but they were all crossed. He could do nothing.”

Barakat, who was involved in the US negotiations with the Afghan Taliban during Trump’s first administration, noted that there were similar dynamics at play then. “When someone comes in and says, ‘you do this,’ and we don’t know what he said to the other people, but they did it, on the surface, that is admirable,” he added. “They admire him. But they don’t believe that he will go the distance.”