Hamas should join the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and commit to non-violence to attain independence for an ‘undivided Palestine’, said Foreign Minister of the State of Palestine, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin. Speaking to The Hindu in an exclusive interview, Ms. Shahin said, Hamas, which has been fighting the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, needs to subscribe to the ‘mandate’ of the PLO which includes recognition of the state of Israel.

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“PLO is the umbrella organisation of all Palestinian factions. Whoever wants to be part of the Palestinian political structure needs to join the PLO, and whoever wants to join the PLO needs to subscribe to the mandate of the PLO,” said Ms. Shahin, detailing the ‘mandate of the PLO’, which includes “recognition of the state of Israel”. Hamas has been in de facto control of the Gaza Strip since 2006, when it defeated the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas in an election.

The Palestinian Authority, led by President Abbas, which constitutes the core of the state of Palestine, is based in the West Bank, while Hamas controls Gaza. Hamas believes in armed resistance, while Fatah, the dominant faction within the PLO, believes in building a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders. Ms. Shahin said Gaza and the West Bank should not be viewed separately from each other and the need of the hour was for all factions of Palestinian struggle to unite.

“We are for peace and non-violence to achieve our liberation and independence. We need to respect the agreements signed with Israel. We need to be committed to a vision of One Palestine (no division of Palestine), one government, one people, one law, and one armed wing under the legitimate authority of Palestine,” said Ms. Shahin, summing up the mandate of the PLO. The Palestinian Foreign Minister said the conflict in Gaza has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians and at least 1,72,000 have been injured, with another 15,000 to 20,000 who are missing and are presumed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

The visiting Minister said that many Palestinians in Gaza with prevailing health conditions were “forced to die” as Israeli blockade did not allow required medicines and health facilities to reach them during the conflict which intensified with Hamas attacking Israeli targets on October 7, 2023. “Israel used water and food as weapons of war triggering malnourishment that will be felt in the generations to come,” said Ms. Shahin.

The visiting Minister who met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House on Friday (January 30, 2026) said 85% of the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip, including two schools built with Indian assistance have been destroyed in Israeli bombing. Responding to a question on the ‘Board of Peace’ that has been constituted under U.S. President Donald Trump, Ms. Shahin said the ‘Board of Peace’ should adhere to the UNSC Resolution 2803 of November 2025, and the “real peace in the region” would entail ensuring the “right of self-determination of the Palestinian people”. Ms. Shahin said India has been a consistent supporter of the two-state solution for ending the Israel-Palestinian conflict and called upon India to help in the reconstruction of Gaza Strip.

Ms. Shahin, who is a Christian Palestinian, said the world media has not been reporting adequately about the diversity of the Palestinian society and the fact that Palestine is home to the oldest Christian community in the world and said, “The world tends to forget that Christianity started in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The world disregards the social mosaic of Palestine which is extremely important especially in the Christian world that believes Christians have to be maintained in Jerusalem and Bethlehem and right now the Christian Palestinians as much as the rest of the Palestinians feel abandoned by the world.”