Hamas politburo member Ismail Haniyya said that the Gaza Strip should not halt its activities in supporting the resistance in the West Bank so that the Israeli government will not single it out, and stressed on the need for all the Palestinian factions to unite in order to protect the Palestinian people and interests.
Haniyya, speaking at the Radwan Mosque in Gaza City on Sunday, said the task of the factions and the people is represented in three main points. The first is to complete the mission of liberation and resistance. The second, finding ways to rebuild what the occupation has destroyed, saying this is the joint responsibility of all resistance factions and sectors of society,aAnd the third point is calling on Palestinian businesspeople in the country and abroad to participate in the building process and to help in alleviating the hardships of the people.
Also, Haniyya added that Hamas is ready to cooperate with any side who is interested in rebuilding the country and its institutions. “The hand that resisted and expelled the occupation is also able to build and reconstruct what the occupation has destroyed,” he said.
Haniyya stated that rebuilding the institutions and the economy requires transparency, patience and justice in putting the right person in the right position in accordance with the needs of the people.
Haniyya continued that reforming the political institutions is an important part of the reform process in order to achieve justice and counter all forms of insecurity and chaos.
He also stressed on the importance of holding the Palestinian Legislative Elections n their set date on January 25, 2006, without any delays, as a step towards a comprehensive reform.
Haniyya warned that the United States and Israel are using the assassination of Rafiq Al Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister, in order to frame Syria and to eliminate the weapons of resistance in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.
He said this political move was only a means of carrying out the American agenda that serves the “Zionist movement”.
Also, Haniyya called on the Palestinian factions, and armed groups, to refrain from internal conflicts and armed violence which claims the lives of the residents, and to promote dialogue between the factions.
Haniyya also said there are a number of issues which must be addressed after Israeli pullout out of Gaza, stressing that the withdrawal must be comprehensive enabling the Palestinian people have the freedom of movement.
Haniyya explained that the Egyptian delegation, who met with Hamas and the P.A, reassured them that the Rafah border Crossing would be opened in the near future to enable the Palestinian residents to enter and leave that Gaza Strip without prior security arrangements.
“Hamas will not agree to transform the Gaza Strip into a big prison”, he said, “We will not agree to any sort of Israeli control on the crossings”.
