Hamas's members of parliament demand an Arab intervention

Monday April 21, 2008 18:02 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

The Hamas party's members of parliament demanded on Monday an Arab intervention for lifting the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Deputy-speaker of Parliement, Ahmad Bahar

The MPs, headed by Ahmad Bahar, deputy-speaker of the Hamas-dominated parliament, spoke in a press conference at the Gaza hospital of aL-Shifa.

Ahmad Bahar told reporters that the ambulances have stopped working for the past few weeks, due to shortage of fuel supplies in the coastal region, as Israel continues to deny shipments of fuel to Gaza.

" where is the Arab states' action amidst such a suffering, the Palestinian people in Gaza have endured over the past 10 months", Bahar wondered.

He held Israel responsible for what is going on the ground, describing the people's conditions as 'slow death' , wondering as to how internationally-sponsored peace agreements, signed by consecutive Palestinian governments, can not make Israel stop its actions against the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Bahar hailed the Palestinian masses in then shadow of such conditions, saying " we have been chosen by you and we will remain by your side".

The speaker of parliament confirmed that the lawmakers in Gaza will be holding a series of activities, in protest of the Israeli blockade, including a hunger strike, starting from 10:00am until 7:00 pm on Tuesday.

Since the Islamist Hamas took over Gaza and routed Fatah-loyal forces in June2007, Israel has been enforcing a closure of all Gaza's border crossings. In October2007, Israel began reducing shipments of fuel to Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

gaza strip | palestinian politics | news report rami at imemc dot org