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Islamic Jihad refuses linking Gaza reconstruction to detained Israelis

July 2, 2021 at 4:28 pm

Islamic Jihad Movement leader Ahmad Al-Mudallal addresses the crowd in Gaza City, Gaza on January 17, 2017 [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency]

Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza Strip, Ahmad Al-Mudallal, today rejected linking the file of Israeli prisoners of war held in the Strip to that of the reconstruction of the besieged enclave following Israel’s latest aggression.

“The rebellious youth in the Gaza Strip are launching incendiary balloons [into Israel] as an expression of public anger against the [Israeli] occupation’s practices, which is procrastinating in implementing the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed with the resistance,” Al-Mudallal said.

In an interview with Palestine Today, Al-Mudallal said the Israelis living in the area around Gaza will not enjoy stability or security as long as our people in Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank and within the Green Line do not enjoy them.

“The issue of [detained Israelis] is separate, and will be resolved according to an honourable exchange process based on liberating our male and female prisoners from the [Israeli] occupation’s prisons. As for reconstruction and lifting the siege, this is another issue related to the agreement concluded between the [Palestinian] resistance and the Zionist occupation under Egyptian auspices,” he added.

Al-Mudallal called on the Egyptian leadership and all mediators to pressure Israel to implement the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

He also held Israel fully responsible for any escalation in the region as an outcome of the siege imposed on Gaza and Israel’s systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Jerusalem.

READ: Israel insists it will not ease siege imposed on Gaza