The head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, warned against the Israeli occupation army’s attempt to invade the city of Rafah, stressing at the same time the readiness of the resistance factions on the ground.
Haniyeh said in a press statement after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul: If the Israeli enemy decides to go to Rafah, our Palestinian people will not raise the white flag, and the resistance in Rafah is also ready to defend itself, confront the aggression, and protect itself and its people.
He added: Hamas is a movement that resists the occupation to liberate its land, its people, and its sanctities from the oppression of the Israeli occupation.
He expressed his pride in the supportive Turkish position on the Palestinian issue, stressing that talking about the importance of the Palestinian issue on the Turkish policy agenda, past and present, and what Gaza represents in the Turkish conscience, was appreciated by all Palestinians.
Haniyeh pointed out that the Israeli reaction to the Turkish government’s positions on Hamas ‘is considered political impudence and reflects the nature of the Israeli occupation, which wants to continue killing the Palestinian people, and absolutely does not understand any supportive positions from any country, especially Turkey, with its regional size, its Islamic position, and its historical relationship to the Palestinian issue.”
Commenting on the Israeli statements regarding the imminent invasion of the city of Rafah, Haniyeh said: ‘It is very clear that the Israeli enemy has a decision to make every point, every place and every city in Gaza permissible, since it has been talking about Rafah for months.’
Regarding Washington’s position on the invasion, he explained that ‘the American position is deceptive, and their talk that they need to see plans to avoid harm to civilians is nothing but a deception.’ Haniyeh demonstrated this by saying: ‘All the civilians who were killed in Gaza were martyred by American weapons and missiles and political American cover.”
He said: ‘When Washington stands within the Security Council and resorts to veto power against the ceasefire resolution…what does that mean? It means that the United States gives full cover to the continuation of killing and massacre towards Gaza, and when Washington recently took a veto decision against considering the State of Palestine a full membership in the United Nations means that it adopts the Israeli position and that it stands against the rights of the Palestinian people.’
He continued: ‘Therefore, we did not fall into this trap… the trap of deception and the so-called exchange of jobs between the Americans and the Israelis… We warn against entering Rafah, because this may cause a great massacre against our Palestinian people.’
Haniyeh called on “all brotherly and friendly countries – Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, and all European countries and others directly related – to take action to curb the Israeli aggression and prevent entry into Rafah, and even the necessity of complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and ending the aggression.”
Haniyeh talked about what will happen with regard to the administration of the Gaza Strip after the end of the Israeli aggression and war, saying: ‘There are options and alternatives proposed in the presence of an Arab force.’
He added: “We welcome any Arab or Islamic force if its mission is to support our Palestinian people and help them liberate from the occupation. However, an Arab or international force coming to provide protection for the occupation is certainly rejected.”
Haniyeh added: ‘There are alternatives that have been proposed, but they are impractical and cannot succeed,’ stressing that ‘the administration of Gaza must be based on Palestinian will.’
He said: “We called for the arrangement of the Palestinian house on two levels, which are the leadership level within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, so that the Liberation Organization is rebuilt to include all factions.”
He added: “The second level is the formation of a national government for the West Bank and Gaza that will have three tasks: the first is to supervise reconstruction (in Gaza), the second is to unify institutions in the West Bank and Gaza, and the third is to prepare for holding general presidential and legislative elections.”
Haniyeh continued: ‘Therefore, we see the formation of a national consensus government for Gaza and the West Bank that will supervise Gaza and administer Gaza after the end of the war.’
He pointed out, “Hamas is not committed to sole representation. We are part of the Palestinian people and we can build a national unity government and agree to manage Gaza on the basis of partnership, as these are national issues. We will not allow the occupation or anyone else to arrange the Palestinian situation in Gaza, the West Bank, or both.”
Commenting on the martyrdom of three of his sons and a number of his grandchildren in an Israeli raid in the Gaza Strip on April 10, Haniyeh said: ‘First, we ask God to have mercy on the martyrs and have mercy on the children and grandchildren. This crime reflects three indications: The first is the failure of the enemy to achieve its military goals over the course of and months.’
He added: “The Israeli enemy only succeeded in killing thousands of children, women, and elderly civilians, and therefore the Eid massacre, which claimed the lives of 3 children and 5 grandchildren, falls within this context and confirms the failure of this enemy.”
The second indication, according to Haniyeh, is that ‘the occupation believes that a massacre targeting my home, my children, and my grandchildren could put pressure on the movement’s leadership and its president to make concessions in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, and this is delusional.’
He continued: ‘We have always stressed that the demands of the Palestinian people cannot be neglected and we cannot give up, whether with regard to the Gaza issue and the conditions for stopping the aggression, or with regard to our established historical Palestinian rights in our land, in our homeland, and the return of the Palestinian people, and the establishment of its fully sovereign state with al-Quds as its capital without any negligence or hesitation.’
He added: ‘The third indication that I want to point out is that my children are part of our Palestinian people. Our condition is like the condition of our people. We live with our families; our homes are our children, our grandchildren. Our homes are all exposed to what our Palestinian people are exposed to, and I said from the first moment that the blood of my children is not more precious than the children of our Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank and everywhere else.’
Haniyeh continued: ‘All the martyred sons of Gaza and the West Bank are my sons, just like our martyrs abroad, so we are equal in rights and duties and in paying the price, and we accept all of that with open arms, surrender, steadfastness, determination, and an unwavering will, and we affirm that we will continue on this path, no matter the sacrifices.’
In his answer to the question of Hamas’ demands in the indirect negotiations with Israel regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners, Haniyeh said: ‘From the beginning, our positions were clear. We want to stop the aggression against our people.’
He added: “Stopping the aggression is a priority for us, and for that reason we agreed to enter into negotiations on the condition that they lead to a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal, and the return of all displaced persons, leading to an honorable exchange deal.”
Haniyeh said: ‘The Israeli enemy wants Hamas and the resistance to agree to maps for the deployment of the Israeli army, as if we are legitimizing the occupation of the Gaza Strip or part of the Gaza Strip, and this cannot be done. A complete withdrawal from Gaza must be achieved.’
Source: National Iraqi News Agency