Israel Fomenting Sectarian Strife in Mideast to Marginalize Palestinian Cause: Hamas
“Our cause is at a dangerous juncture, and there are real threats that we must face. The occupying regime is pouring fuel on the fire of sectarian strife in the Arab countries as part of efforts to obliterate the Palestinian cause,” Yahya Sinwar said in a speech delivered in Gaza City on Monday evening.
He added that Israeli lobbyists control the United States, whose head of state –President Donald Trump – referred to Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel at the 2017 Riyadh summit, held in 2017 in the Saudi capital, and no participant raised an objection at the time.
Sinwar also condemned attempts by some Arab states and Persian Gulf kingdoms to normalize diplomatic relations with the Tel Aviv regime, noting Trump had said back then that Arab leaders were developing new approaches aimed at the establishment of normal ties with Israel.
He went on to say that think tanks have been formed within Palestinian factions in order to deal with every problem impeding the implementation of a reconciliation agreement, emphasizing that there are certain forces seeking to prolong division among Palestinians, Press TV reported.
During a visit to Gaza last week, Chairman of the Palestinian Central Election Commission Hanna Nasser and leaders of eight factions in the Palestinian enclave signed an agreement to hold parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories first and presidential elections three months later.
Nasser revisited the Gaza Strip for talks with Hamas leaders on holding the unsynchronized elections. He met with Sinwar and other leaders of the resistance movement, delivering Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' response to the agreement reached between the commission and the Palestinian factions.
Elsewhere in his Monday speech, the Hamas leader highlighted that the parties behind an attempt to assassinate former Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah in Gaza in late March worked under the guidance of officers in the Israeli intelligence service, and were assisted by some internal agents.
He said Hamas has unconditionally agreed to the Palestinian factions’ initiative to end division because it is always ready for elections.
“If Hamas does not win the next elections, it certainly will not lose,” Sinwar commented.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Sinwar said the Islamic resistance movement “will not accept the persistence of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and will not be patient any longer.”
“We have hundreds of kilometers of tunnels … besides anti-armor and rocket-propelled grenades manufactured locally.
“We have succeeded to form a joint command center with the participation of 13 military wings of Palestinian factions, to address the aggression of the occupation,” he said, stressing that “Iran has offered the greatest assistance as regards building our strength.”
The Israeli military frequently bombs Gaza, with civilians being the main target of such attacks.
Israel has also launched several wars on the Palestinian coastal sliver, the last of which began in early July 2014. The military aggression, which ended on August 26, 2014, killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians. Over 11,100 others were also wounded in the war.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
The Israeli regime denies about 1.8 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs with proper wages as well as adequate healthcare and education.
