Hamas sets conditions for truce

Hamas will not return to a ceasefire with Israel until the latter abides by its conditions, which are stopping the Israeli offensive on Gaza, lifting the siege, and releasing prisoners who had been originally freed in the Shalit prisoner exchange deal, a senior official said yesterday.

Otherwise, resistance will continue for months, and even years, said the Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ismail Al-Ashkar.

Al-Ashkar said that the Palestinian people and all the free people of the world can bet on the resistance, stressing that the movement is ready to face any Israeli escalation.

He said that the resistance is capable of firing beyond Tel Aviv. “If the occupation and its cronies think that the resistance can weaken, we tell them that we are holding on to God’s strong rope and we are supported by all the free Palestinians wherever they are and all the free people of the world.”

Commenting on attempts by many sides at reaching a truce, Al-Ashkar said, “The resistance will not raise the white flag. We will only stop when they raise the white flag and surrender to the terms of the resistance.

“Our conditions are clear: stopping [Israeli] attacks on the Palestinian people wherever they are, lifting the siege imposed on our people on the Gaza Strip, releasing the prisoners who had been freed in the Wafa Al-Ahrar deal. Otherwise, the resistance is ready to persevere for years.”

He said that the resistance is now capable of harming Israel and keeping it in the line of fire and in shelters. The occupation has to bear the consequences of its foolishness toward the Palestinians, he said.

He condemned the Israeli raids on houses and the killing of Palestinian women and children. “The occupation has gone so far in its crimes against our Palestinian people. We noticed this in the Battle of Furqan [Operation Cast Lead] and the Goldstone report that condemned [Israeli] crimes against humanity. But unfortunately, with complicity from Palestine and from other countries, the report was put on the shelf at the United Nations.”

“This is the third blessed uprising; Al-Quds uprising is uniting the Palestinian people everywhere behind the resistance. Our people are revolting in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and 1948 Palestine,” he said.

“We are telling the enemy, which went through previous rounds with the resistance, that the resistance is becoming stronger day after day. Our legendary resilience at the Battle of Furqan, in which our people won, and in the Sijeel Battle [Operation Pillar of Cloud] wherein the enemy tried to test the resistance, and the resistance fired into the enemy’s depth. It is now testing the resistance yet again and the resistance will defeat it, God willing.”