Hamas slams US envoy’s ‘assault’ on Palestinian people

The statements of the United States (US) ambassador to Israel regarding Israel’s potential annexation of the occupied West Bank were an “assault on the Palestinian people”, Hamas said yesterday.

“The American stances to tear up the Palestinian issue are a continuation of the bullying practiced by the US administration in the region to serve the interests of the Zionist project,” the movement said in a statement according to the Palestinian Information Centre.

Hamas described the US plans in the occupied territories as an “assault on the Palestinian people”.

“The Palestinians’ continuous struggle against the occupation and their willingness to fight and sacrifice to regain their land, is what will determine the existence of Israel in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied nation,” the movement added.

READ: US warns citizens in Israel of rocket fire risk 

On Wednesday, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said America’s next step, after recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, is the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

“Since coming here l’ve worked to add one more item to a busy agenda: helping to find a fix to the issues that still linger from the Six Day War,” he said regarding the 1967 war which saw Israel occupy all of historic Palestine.

“But it didn’t make peace with everyone and when we came into office the lingering issues included three of significant importance: the status of 1) Jerusalem, 2) the Golan Heights and 3) Judea and Samaria. We have approached them in ascending order of complexity,” he said referring to the occupied West Bank using its Israeli name.