Mishaal outlines ten strategic priorities, calls for a global coalition to support Palestine

Speaking at the “Pledge to Jerusalem” conference in Istanbul, Mishaal outlined ten strategic priorities that he said must guide the current phase of the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

Mishaal said it is time for the Muslim world to place the liberation of Jerusalem and the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque at the center of its agenda, asserting that the “covenant with Al-Quds is its liberation.”

He urged mobilizing all efforts to support Gaza, secure a complete end to the war, ensure humanitarian relief, reconstruction, reopening of crossings and preventing any displacement or Israeli-engineered redesign of the Strip. Gaza, he said, “lifted the sword for Jerusalem in 2021 and has paid the heaviest price; it deserves our full support.”

Mishaal warned that although large-scale bombardment has stopped, “starvation, siege, closed crossings and punishment of civilians” continue, indicating that the genocide has taken a new form.

He firmly rejected any trusteeship, mandate or foreign administration over Gaza, the West Bank or any part of Palestine, saying, “The Palestinian rules himself. No guardianship, no mandate, no re-occupation. Our people need protection, not supervision.”

Mishaal stressed the need to preserve the resistance and its weapons, calling them “the honor of the nation,” and urged action to halt Israel’s intensifying settlement expansion and Judaization of the West Bank and Al-Quds.

He also called for a national campaign to free Palestinian prisoners, who, he said, face unprecedented brutality, especially under Israel’s far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and new attempts to legislate executions.

Mishaal emphasized the urgency of Palestinian national unity, saying no victory or political achievement is possible without internal partnership, “This homeland belongs to all of us; no one may monopolize the decision. International projects want to erase Gaza, the West Bank, the Authority and the factions, unity is our shield.”

He urged Arab and Islamic states to adopt a unified regional strategy that resists Israeli aggression and rejects all forms of normalization.

The Hamas leader also stressed the importance of boycotting and legally pursuing Israel internationally, noting that much of the world now views it as a “pariah criminal state.” He described this as a critical moment to deepen its political isolation.

Finally, he called for restoring popular, political and student advocacy movements across the Arab world and globally, saying their impact after the October 2023 events remains a powerful force for change.

Mishaal opened his speech by warning that Gaza, Al-Quds, Al-Aqsa and the region face an “existential threat,” adding that Israel seeks to “re-engineer Gaza geographically” as part of its wider agenda.