Chief of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas abroad Maher Salah on Monday said that the Palestinian resistance will be able to fight back if the Israeli occupation wages a new military assault on the Gaza Strip.
Salah said that Hamas is doing every possible effort to reach a new prisoner exchange deal with Israel.
On the Israeli leaders’ threats to launch a new military operation on the Gaza Strip Salah stated that Israel is not ready to engage in any confrontation in the meantime for several reasons.
During an interview with Palestine newspaper the Hamas leader noted that Israel fears that the normalization movement in the Arab world which has achieved a noticeable progress might be affected.
Besides with the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worrying about possible unpleasant repercussions on the upcoming elections a new military operation in the Gaza Strip might not be an option he added.
Joint operation room
Salah described the “joint operation room” of Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza as a “wonderful example” of joint action against the Israeli occupation and called for further coordination and cooperation between Palestinian factions on both the military and political levels.
He added that Hamas has repeatedly proved its keenness on achieving national unity.
Prisoner swap deal
Salah affirmed that Hamas has set a goal of “cleaning” all Israeli jails of Palestinian detainees.
He added that efforts behind the scenes are in full swing to reach a new prisoner exchange deal with Israel that meets the resistance group’s demands.
United Nations battle
In another context Salah pointed out that Hamas has made massive efforts and contacted many Arab Muslim and foreign countries to thwart the US draft resolution condemning Hamas and the Palestinian resistance at the United Nations General Assembly.
Salah also praised the great role played by the Palestinian Authority Fatah movement and the Palestinian permanent ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour to obstruct the US move.
“This indicates how much national unity is important to confront the Israeli occupation and the conspiracies aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause” he said.
Salah expressed his gratitude for the Arab and Muslim member states who were able to obtain a preliminary decision requiring that the US draft resolution gets two-thirds of the votes to be adopted.
Salah said that this is the second time that the US administration receives a “slap” at the United Nations while attempting to protect the Israeli occupation recalling what he called the “historic vote” at the United Nations General Assembly that came in response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
He explained that the US through a deceptive proposal and by exerting massive pressures on the United Nations member states attempted to criminalize the Palestinian resistance and deprive the Palestinian people of their right to defend themselves.
He affirmed that Hamas movement abroad is working hard at all levels to strengthen the Palestinian front in the diaspora.
Great March of Return
Salah said that the Great March of Return is a purely popular effort which has presented a new image of the Palestinian struggle for freedom.
Salah stressed that the Qatari financial grant to the Gaza Strip employees and the noticeable improvement in the electricity crisis in the enclave would have never been achieved without the Great March of Return and the sacrifices the Palestinians in Gaza have made over the past few months.
In another context Salah slammed the security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel which helps the latter crack down on Palestinian resistance movements in the West Bank.
Reconciliation
On the punitive measures imposed by the Palestinian Authority on the Gaza Strip since April 2017 Salah said referring to recent statements by the Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad “It seems that the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has decided to close the reconciliation doors and go ahead with its retaliatory sanctions on Gaza.”
The Egyptian pressures have recently succeeded in thwarting another round of sanctions by the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas against Gaza Salah said but they have not yet been able to achieve progress in the reconciliation process.
Salah noted that the intensified visits by Hamas delegations to Cairo recently highlight Hamas’s high sense of responsibility and keenness on ending the Palestinian division.
The Hamas leader praised both Egypt and Turkey for their incessant support for the Palestinian cause and people.
Hamas abroad
Salah said that his movement is exerting every possible effort raising awareness and mobilizing energies toward building a solid support system for the Palestinian cause abroad.
He shed light on the political and diplomatic relations established by Hamas at the regional and international levels the efforts made in the areas of international law and human rights and the projects launched by the movement’s institutions in various fields.
He added that Hamas abroad is mainly concerned with keeping the Palestinian cause alive in the memory of the successive generations protecting the right of return and providing humanitarian support to the Palestinians in refugee camps.
