Just two days after an Israeli attack in Gaza killed 18 civilians, many
of them children, the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has
announced that he would be willing to resign as Prime Minister if that
would lead to the lifting of the economic siege on the Palestinian
people.
After meeting today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced that the two have set aside their differences in an attempt to form a unity government that will be recognized by the international community.
Despite the fact that the Palestinian elections in January were considered fair and unbiased, the result of the election has not been recognized by either Israel or the United States, as the Palestinian people chose to elect the Hamas party as a majority in the legislature.
Today's announcement comes in the midst of ongoing Israeli attacks and restrictions of movement. Over 75 Palestinians have been killed since last week, one-third of them children. No Israelis have been killed or injured in that time. And the Israeli-imposed restrictions on Palestinians' movement have increased in conjunction with the Israeli invasion in Gaza. Dozens of new Israeli checkpoints have been set up, in addition to the 600 already in place throughout the Palestinian West Bank. And people under 45 years old were prohibited from praying today at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
