Hamas celebrates its 32nd anniversary in Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets on Friday in the north of the Gaza Strip, to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas.

Hamas gave the name ‘The Edge of the Sword’ to this year’s celebrations of its anniversary. This name was attributed to the Hamas military wing’s operation, when it foiled a plan by an Israeli special unit aimed at the Palestinian resistance last year.

For the first time, Hamas did not organise a central rally in the city of Gaza for its supporters, where leaders from other parties usually deliver speeches and artists perform folkloric shows, glorifying the Palestinian resistance.

In order to deal with the financial crisis, this year Hamas planned marches across the different cities along the Gaza Strip.

READ: Where is Hamas today, 32 years after it was founded

Participants and Hamas supporters raised Hamas flags and pictures of late Hamas founders and leaders, as they listened to the speeches of Hamas leaders.

During the march organised in the city of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, member of Hamas Political Bureau, Fathi Hammad, announced: “Our people will not give up resistance until the Israeli occupation has ended.”

He added: “The time for imposing solutions has gone, and if the Israeli occupation rejects all proposed solutions and does not stop its violations against our people under the pressure of popular resistance, we will resume armed resistance.”

The senior Hamas leader hailed the Joint Operations Room of the military wings of the Palestinian factions in Gaza, stressing: “The Joint Operations Room will remain the highest body for popular and armed resistance.”

Commenting on the issue of Israeli prisoners captured by the Palestinians resistance, Hammad disclosed: “It seems that the Israeli occupation is not interested in the release of its captive soldiers. We will never release them without the release of our prisoners.”

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Regarding national unity and the elections, he elucidated: “Hamas does not have any sanctions on the achievement of national unity. It is also ready for the elections and we call for President Mahmood Abbas to issue the election decree as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman, Hammad Al-Reqib, informed a march in the city of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, that his movement “has no problem with political plurality and insisted on forming a government from the different Palestinian factions when it won the elections in 2006, which the Palestinian factions rejected.”