In a speech on the eve of Ramadan, the head of Hamas’ politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, said the movement will not accept an agreement that does not end the war on Gaza, nor allow the displaced to return to their homes.
The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, has affirmed five principles for reaching a comprehensive agreement with Israel to end the current conflict in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“We do not want to reach an agreement that does not end the war on the Gaza Strip, or does not let displaced people return to their homes, or does not ensure the departure of the Zionist enemy from the Gaza Strip,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a speech delivered on the eve of Ramadan on Sunday.
Haniyeh said Israel bears “responsibility for not reaching an agreement because it does not want to commit to the basic principles of the agreement.”
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh delivering speech https://t.co/acv59Qbd8r
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These principles include a total ceasefire; full withdrawal by the Israeli army from all of Gaza, complete and unconditional return of the displaced; addressing humanitarian issues including relief, shelter and reconstruction; and reaching a prisoner exchange deal.
Israel “has so far evaded providing clear guarantees and commitments, especially in stopping the aggressive war on the Gaza Strip,” Haniyeh stated.
He emphasized that the agreement must include three interlinked phases and also be backed by international guarantees to compel Israel to comply with what is agreed upon.
The politburo chief affirmed that Hamas and its leadership “are open to open to continuing negotiations and open to any formula that achieves these principles and ends this aggression.”
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Psychological War
Haniyeh also warned that “the enemy is waging a psychological war against our people and there are attempts to sow discord and create chaos, but all of this will fail.”
He noted that “the occupation has also failed to displace our people and divide the Gaza Strip despite all the massacres and ethnic cleansing and genocide it practiced against our Palestinian people.”
Haniyeh also stressed that Hamas “is monitoring the arrangements of the Palestinian internal situation and is more concerned than ever with the unity of the Palestinian people and rebuilding its political and leadership components on correct and sound foundations.”
“This entails three levels: the leadership level and rebuilding the national reference within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization through elections for the Palestinian National Council, agreeing on forming a national consensus government with specific tasks for a temporary period …, and agreeing on a political programme for our people at this stage.”
He said Hamas has presented “a political approach in this regard.”
He called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the diaspora “to support the battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood to protect Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque against any conspiracies targeting our holiest places, Islamic and Christian,” urging them to make the most of the holy month of Ramadan.
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Staggering Death Toll
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 31,112 Palestinians have been killed, and 72,760 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(PC, Anadolu)
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