Marwan Kanafani, Former Advisor to Yasser Arafat: Hamas Is the Legitimate Palestinian Government

Following are excerpts from an interview with Marwan Kanafani, former advisor to Yasser Arafat, which aired on Dubai TV on December 3, 2007:

Marwan Kanafani: Hamas is a Palestinian organization, which has taken part in the Palestinian struggle - a little late maybe, but still, it has taken part in this struggle, and has sacrificed many martyrs. Hamas, in my opinion – and I am not a Hamas member or a supporter of this ideology – is the legitimate government in Palestine. Hamas won the elections in January 2006 clearly and without a doubt.

[...]

I believed, and I continue to believe, that the Hamas government, which won the elections with a clear platform, and gained the support of most Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, should have been given a chance to govern. Who deprived it of this opportunity? There were attempts to disrupt the activity of the government...

Interviewer: By whom?

Marwan Kanafani: This happens all over the world and is not unique to the Palestinians. It was done by the Fatah movement. Fatah deliberately put obstacles in its way. Some Fatah members tried to disrupt the functioning of the Hamas government.