Hamas has urged Israel to comply with the terms of its ceasefire with the Gaza Strip and stop the aggression against Palestinians in the besieged territory.
Expressing the resistance movement’s commitment to its truce with Israel, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar criticized Tel Aviv on Friday for violating the January 2009 treaty, which ended the 22-day Israeli war against Gaza.
"We declare our commitment to respecting the truce between us and the occupier," Zahar said during the Friday prayers in the Gaza town of Khan Yunis adding that "despite the sacrifices, we announce that we continue to respect the truce."
He called on Tel Aviv to reciprocate and "stop incursions [into Gaza], halt killings of Palestinians and lift the deadly blockade" of the coastal sliver.
Zahar’s remarks came as Israel has increased its attacks against the Palestinian territory in recent months, killing and wounding many Palestinians in Gaza.
Hamas, the democratically-elected ruler of Gaza, said on Wednesday that it has decided to raise the issue of repeated Israeli violations to the UN as it gave rise to the "threat of further aggression against the Palestinians."
Hamas will submit "a complaint to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council and all relevant agencies about … the threat of further aggression against the Palestinians," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said.
"We will be in contact with several countries to explain the aggressive behavior of the occupation forces and have been in touch with Egyptian officials to discuss these threats," he added.
Since the end of the Gaza war, a large number of Palestinians have been killed or wounded in Israeli air attacks on the besieged coastal strip. Many Palestinian structures have also been destroyed in the raids.
On Friday, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian shepherd and injured three others, who were collecting debris north of the Gaza Strip.
At least 1,400 Palestinians were killed during Tel Aviv’s December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which inflicted above USD1.6 billion in damages on the Gazan economy.
(Press TV)
