The exile-based political supreme leader of Hamas, Khaled Mash’al stated Saturday in Cairo that ‘resisting the Israeli occupation’ is a legitimate right for the Palestinian people.
Masha’l, who is based in Damascus, met earlier in the day with Egyptian officials including the Arab league’s chief, Amr Mousa.
Mash’al also stressed that the latest Hamas homemade shells fire into nearby Israeli targets did not mean extracting concessions from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with respect to negotiations on possible joining by Hamas to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Hamas’s senior was quoted as saying that the PLO is the ‘big house’ that contains all bodies, maintaining that the fire on Israel is not a part of any internal Palestinian issues.
On another issue, he urged the Arab countries to flow financial aids to the Palestinian people, in a time the Palestinians have already established their national unity government.
Following the February agreement on a Palestinian national unity government under Saudi Arabia auspices, Palestinians expected a flow of aids, yet their expectations turned to be low.
Mash’al warned of possible explosion in the Palestinian territories if the internationally-imposed economic embargo continues.
Palestinian Prime Minister of the Hamas-led government, Ismail Haniya, has warned recently that the few coming months will see new developments if the economic boycott remains intact.
Arab league’s chief, Amr Mousa, commented on Mash’al’s remarks by saying that the Arab countries will never be a part of ‘starving’ the Palestinian people, insisting that the Arab countries have been transferring money to the Palestinians after the Arab states summit in late March.
From Cairo, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, called Friday for an end to the embargo, emphasizing the need for at about $1.2 billion for the Palestinian Authority to ‘get back on its feet’
Mash’al also commented on the prisoner swap deal with Israel, blaming Israel for obstructing reaching a deal by saying that the ball now is in ‘Israel’s court’.
Hamas demanded that it names the prisoners to be swapped for Israeli corporal Gil’ad Shalit, who has been captured by resistance groups linked to Hamas in Gaza since last June, while Israel rejected.
Hamas’s military wing, Ezzilidin Alqassam, declared last week that the half-year-old ceasefire with Israel ‘dead’, following Israeli army raids on the Palestinian territories that killed 9 Palestinians including passersby.
Hamas fired on Tuesday a barrage of homemade shells into different nearby Israeli targets, leaving neither injuries nor considerable damages. Israel decided to carry out limited attack on Gaza, in response.
Egyptian security officials, based in Gaza, urged Israel to put off attacks and called on Palestinian resistance groups to stop shells fire, in return. Egyptians said the groups renewed the ceasefire, yet many groups conditioned that Israel should stop attacks on the West Bank, as well.
Mash’al met yesterday with Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, in their first meeting since the Mecca deal has been reached between the largest rival Palestinian parties early in February. He reveled he would meet again with Abbas but did not set time nor place.
The international Quartet for promoting peace in the Middle East, comprised of United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia, provisioned that the Hamas-led government must recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept past signed agreements as preconditions to lift the boycott.
The Palestinian territories have been going through crippling economic conditions, with unprecedented rates of poverty and unemployment, estimated at more than seventy percent, according to latest figures.
