Hamas claims Fayyad-Barak meeting is a cover for continuing the siege and security coordination

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has criticized the meeting between the Prime Minister in Ramallah and the Israeli Defence Minister. Salam Fayyad’s meeting with Ehud Barak is, claims Hamas, merely a response to American pressure intended to enhance Israel’s image.

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In a statement issued on 5 July, Hamas said, “We in the movement condemn this meeting, and consider it as another step in security coordination with the illegal military occupation. It is just a new umbrella to hide Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, who have been under siege in Gaza for four years, and provides cover for the rabid-Zionist settlement programme in the West Bank, at the top of which is the Judaization of Jerusalem.”

The statement described the meeting as a provocation to ordinary Palestinians. “A meeting between Fayyad and Barak does not represent the Palestinian people who reject any commitment that might result. It is a provocation to Palestinians who are being harassed and persecuted daily by the Israeli occupation’s Defence Minister and his security forces.”