Islamic Jihad rejects disarming of Palestinian resistance

The leader of Palestine’s Islamic Jihad has said that the movement rejects the disarming of the resistance groups, Anadolu reported on Tuesday. Mohamed Al-Hindi called any talk about disarming the groups “a red line.”

“The Palestinians are seeking national liberation,” he explained, “and the resistance is entirely legitimate, so talking about disarming is a definite red line.”

Al-Hindi condemned the remarks of some Palestinian officials who have made such a call. “The Palestinians bought these arms with their food and blood, and we have to maintain them as a symbol of our honour and persistence,” he insisted.

The people of Palestine, he said, should come together to draft a national strategy that “protects the resistance arms.” The Islamic Jihad leader noted that there are some Palestinians who think that the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation means making Gaza like the West Bank and activating security coordination with Israel there. “This,” he stressed, “is an illusion.”

Read: ‘Resistance weapons are targets for Israel but should not be targets for Palestinians’

He also mentioned the talk about a “big deal” that liquidates the Palestinian cause. “We warn anyone about signing a final deal [alone] and to market such an illusion again.”

On 12 October, Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement to end the ten-year division that included a pledge by the Islamic Resistance Movement to hand control of Gaza to the Fatah-dominated government of national accord.