Issam Hammad, spokesperson for Great March of Return
'Man is the foundation of society, not religion or race,' says Issam Hammad [Hammam Hamdan/Al Jazeera]
Issam Hammad: Did Israel agree, in the first place, to the refugees' return in 1950 when the figure was much lower? It did not. Israel rejected that principle from the very beginning.
On the contrary, it evicted more than 400,000 of 1948 Palestinians [Palestinians living in today's Israel] to the north [Syria, Lebanon, Jordan] in 1967. Therefore, this state formed itself based on the principle of segregation and replacement.
Personally, I call for the return of refugees and living in peace with the Israelis. We are in the age of technology, knowledge, love, harmony and peace, not an age of fighting nations; we can create life together.
The Gaza Strip is 365 square kilometres and it accommodates now two million people. The current state of Israel can withstand tens of times the population it now has.
All problems have a solution, but there must be an intention from Israel to recognise the Palestinians' right to exist and to live in freedom and dignity.
I cannot believe that North Korea and America have stepped to create peace despite the nuclear power that they have, despite the hatred over the years. Yet, here we are still fighting.
Whether it's a one-state or two-state solution, there must be a real intention from Israel to resolve and renounce their idea of a purely Jewish state.
We are not in the age of religions. We are in an age of knowledge and globalisation ... Man is the foundation of society, not religion or race.
Al Jazeera: Israeli politicians have called for a full-blown military offensive to stop the incendiary kites and balloons flown from Gaza. What's your opinion on the kites?
Hammad: In a meeting with the committee today, I called for urging the kids who fly these kites to stop this phenomenon, which Israel may take as an excuse to start a war that we can't afford.
It's not an action the March Committee adopts or approves of. Go back to the March of Return Committee and you won't find a single release or announcement that approves such activities.
Although I cannot condemn it, I think it should be stopped to avoid the collapse of the march in case a war erupted.