The ruling Hamas movement in Gaza considered yesterday the latest Israeli threats against its ranks ‘serious’, yet it said such threats wont deter the movement from keeping up.
Mosheer aL-Masri, a Hamas lawmaker and influential Hamas leader, stated Monday ‘ the threats wont deter Hamas from keeping up in the path of resistance’.
He pointed out the Israeli media terminology in reference to the Hamas’s reaction to the threats as ‘ failed attempts to defuse momentum of the movement’s steadfastness’.
Israeli media reports said yesterday that the Hamas’s leadership has begun hiding out in fear of the Israeli military warnings to target top Hamas leaders, including prime minister, Ismail Haniya.
In response to these reports, Taher Alnunu, spokesman of the Hamas government confirmed that prime minister Haniya, is undertaking everyday activities normally with some precautions.
‘ its untrue, no one has hidden or fled as Haniya is not terrorized, therefore, he practices his life as usual’, aL-Nunu was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader in Gaza, ran a mock of the Israeli threats ‘ we are here , answering mobile phones’ calls, and did not hide’.
‘ we wont hide, or stop resistance as Hamas’s leaders have a faith that death is a matter of God’s willingness and we leaders of Hamas are born to be martyrs’.
Radwan affirmed that Hamas will turn Israeli threats, once implemented, into ‘a volcano of wrath in the face of Israelis’.
Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, warned yesterday of undermining the ruling Hamas totally as other ministers hinted at the possibility of targeting Hamas leaders, in an attempt to end the rule of the Islamist movement once and for all.
In the meantime, the West Bank-based Palestinian government of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, warned of likely consequences of an imminent Israeli attack on Gaza, on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
In June of last year, the democratically-elected Hamas took over the coastal region amidst a power struggle with Fatah party of President Abbas. Right after the takeover, Israel placed Gaza under a strict closure and began a series of punitive measures, including fuel and power supplies cuts.
Israel has been claiming that its actions on Gaza are meant to stop homemade shells fire, launched, for the past five years, by Hamas and other resistance groups from the coastal Strip onto nearby Israeli towns.
