Meshaal: Any lasting truce must lead to an end to Gaza blockade

Any lasting truce must include lifting the siege on Gaza, Hamas’ political bureau chief, Khaled Meshaal, said yesterday.

Concerning the current 72-hour ceasefire reached yesterday between Israel and the Palestinians, Meshaal said: “The truce is one of the ways or tactics which aim at either providing an appropriate climate for the success of negotiations, or to facilitate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.”

He insisted that the primary goal of the Palestinians is to end the siege, and that they will not give up on this demand.

“We insist on this goal. In the case of Israeli procrastination or continued aggression, Hamas is ready with other Palestinian factions to resist on the ground and politically and to face all possibilities,” Meshaal told AFP.