Hamas vows to end all forms of Israeli siege on Gaza
The head of the political bureau of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has called for an end to more than 12 years of Israeli all-out siege on the coastal enclave, promising that it will spare no effort to achieve this goal.
In a statement released by his office on Sunday, Ismail Haniyeh said that Hamas will continue to make efforts to end all forms of blockade on the Gaza Strip.
He said “his movement and the people in Gaza are determined to confront the unjust blockade until it is lifted entirely.”
“The Hamas leadership is keenly following the current situation in the Gaza Strip as well as the contacts and efforts being made by many parties to end the siege on the Strip,” the statement read.
Elsewhere in the statement, the Hamas leader expressed his confidence in the mediation efforts being made by Egypt and Qatar to end the Israeli blockade on Gaza.
In late July, Hamas said that the movement had turned down a $15-billion development aid offer conditioned on disarming.
According to Haniyeh, the hefty aid offer had been made in the context of US President Donald Trump’s highly provocative ‘peace' plan, which would allocate billions to Gaza for development if implemented.
Trump had given Tel Aviv the green light to annex large parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley in his self-proclaimed “deal of the century,” which was unveiled in January with the aim of legitimizing Israel’s occupation and re-drawing the Middle East map.
The scheme has drawn global condemnation. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is determined to carry on with it.
Trump’s plan largely gives in to Israel’s demands while carving out a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders, enshrining the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital.”
Under the US scheme, the future Palestinian state will consist of scattered lands linked together via bridges and tunnels. The plan also denies Palestinian refugees the right of return to their homeland, among other controversial terms.
Hamas has been defending the Palestinian cause against Israel for years.
The Gaza Strip has been under an inhumane Israeli land, air and sea siege since 2007 and witnessed three wars since 2008. Israeli forces conduct regular air raids on Palestinians in Gaza under the pretext of hitting Hamas targets.
The Israeli siege has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
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