A member of the Hamas Political Bureau and head of the movement’s Arab and Islamic Relations Office said on Sunday that the “heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood began at a time when the issue of Palestine had become forgotten and locked in drawers.” Khalil Al-Hayya made his comment in a speech marking the first anniversary of the cross-border incursion.
He said that the occupation state was spreading “corruption in the region” and signing agreements to build alliances that would enable its empowerment, dominance and the liquidation of the Palestinian issue. “It was, therefore, necessary to restore the Palestinian issue and strike at the foundations of the occupation project, so that the Palestinian issue would return to being the top issue in the world.” The Hamas official added that there would be no security or stability in the region unless the Palestinian people have their full legitimate rights restored.
“On 7 October last year, the resistance dealt a strategic blow to the enemy on the security and military levels, to expose the occupier’s utter failure, and for it to realise that its presence on the land of Palestine has no future,” said Al-Hayya. “The occupation state stands for the first time as a war criminal before the International Court of Justice, for the world to see its true nature.”
The Hamas official insisted that the Zionist state’s narrative that it has woven is based on myths and has begun to shatter. The incursion last October, he claimed, is reviving the spirit of struggle in the Muslim world and is shifting the focus towards the real enemy, the settler-colonial state.
Addressing the resistance movement in Lebanon, he added: “Blood is blood and destruction is destruction, we are together and united, as the blood of the martyr leader Ismail Haniyeh joined the blood of the martyr Hassan Nasrallah to create a new dawn for our nation, led by Al-Aqsa on the path to Jerusalem.”
Al-Hayya noted that in Palestine in general, and in Gaza in particular, the Palestinian people are writing a new history with their resistance, blood and steadfastness. “The incursion on 7 October shattered the illusions that the enemy had drawn for itself, after it managed to convince the world and the region of its alleged superiority and capabilities.” Within a few hours, he said, the occupation state was “brought to its knees” and its most important armed forces were “neutralised”.
The Hamas official concluded by praising the resilience, patience and sacrifice of the Palestinian people in Gaza. “Offering the great sacrifices of martyrs and wounded, and despite the destruction of homes, mosques, universities and other infrastructure, they are committed to remaining in their homeland, no matter what terrorism and torture they are exposed to in this heinous genocide.”
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