Hamas official says Palestinians have right to defend their occupied land

The resistance movement Hamas says Palestinians have the inalienable right to defend their occupied land against the Israeli regime.

Izzat al-Risheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, made the remark on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, which is celebrated annually on November 29.

Palestinians have the legitimate right “to defend every inch of their occupied land, liberate the heroic prisoners [from Israeli jails], and purge Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque from desecration,” the Palestinian Information Center on Monday quoted the Hamas official as saying.

The occasion is a UN-organized observance to remind the world of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights. It is commemorated worldwide, with officials expressing their support for the Palestinian cause and denouncing the Israeli conduct in the occupied territories.

In 1977, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance. It marks the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Palestine partition resolution 181.

“Palestine is a cross-cutting issue for our Arab and Muslim nations because it represents a strategic depth for them and any political penetration of this depth poses a threat to their unity and stability and serves only the enemy that targets their wealth and capabilities,” Risheq said.

The senior Hamas official said the Palestinian cause with all of its political and humanitarian dimensions is a just issue, whose vitality and liveliness in the Arab and Muslim nations and international arenas could be restored through rallying around a national resistance project and a unified struggle program.

“The Zionist occupation of the Palestinian land is the most dangerous, criminal, unjust and persistent colonial entity in the world, and our nation and the world’s free people should work with all means and at various levels on criminalizing this occupation, exposing its crimes and making intensive efforts politically and through the media to back the Palestinian people’s steadfastness and help them end the occupation.”

On Sunday, Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif al-Qanu called on the international community to turn its slogans of solidarity with Palestinians into action to end the decades-long Israeli occupation of their land and enable them to live a dignified life.

Hamas urges Intl. community to turn words into actions to end Israeli occupation

Hamas calls on the international community that it is time for action rather than words to support Palestinians and their cause, and end decades-long Israeli occupation.

Separately on Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a message marking the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, also stressed that the world must renew its “commitment to the Palestinian people in their quest to achieve their inalienable rights and build a future of peace, dignity, justice, and security.”

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East Jerusalem al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.

Palestinian officials say they want the resolution of the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the so-called two-state solution along the pre-1967 boundaries.

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