Haniyeh: ‘Palestine is not for sale’

Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh during a conference in Gaza held to protest against the Manama Workshop on 26 June 2019 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Palestinians gather in Gaza to protest against the Manama Workshop on 26 June 2019 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Palestinians gather in Gaza to protest against the Manama Workshop on 26 June 2019 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh during a conference in Gaza held to protest against the Manama Workshop on 26 June 2019 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Head of Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniyeh has said that the Manama workshop “secures economic cover for a political attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”

Haniyeh’s statement came in a speech during a conference organised by Palestinian factions on Tuesday, entitled the Palestinian National Conference to face the Deal of the Century and Reject the Manama Workshop held in Gaza.

He added: “We are witnessing a crucial historical moment. Our position is clear: Palestine is not for sale. No for deals which consecrate the occupier’s hegemony over our land.”

He continued: “The Palestinian people stand today in the face of the Manama workshop in a renewed uprising and political revolution, as Palestinians have sensed the unprecedented strategic threat facing the Palestinian cause.”

Haniyeh pointed out that the Manama workshop “grants Israel the green light to expand its occupation efforts and control over the entire West Bank, in addition to paving the way for normalisation with Arab countries and the integration of the occupier in the region.”

Kushner: Manama economic plan is ‘opportunity of the century’

He stressed that the workshop “was born dead and frustrated. The Palestinian people today stand unified in the face of these deals.”

Haniyeh continued that “all Arab people stand today to emphasise the significance of the Palestinian cause and that Jerusalem is the compass of the nation.”

On Tuesday evening the Manama Peace to Prosperity Workshop began in Bahrain, looking at the economic aspects of the Middle East peace settlement plan, known as the deal of century, according to US media.

Haniyeh demanded all factions “insist on steadfast adherence to the Palestinian cause, primarily Jerusalem, the right of return and a sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital on the entire national territory.”

Haniyeh said: “We, Hamas, are ready now to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza, in Cairo or anywhere.”

Haniyeh called for “the formation of a government of national accord to run our affairs, and prepare for the presidential and legislative elections as well as the Palestinian National Council.”

Read: Gaza sees mass protests denouncing Bahrain workshop

The movement’s leader also called for “the reconstruction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation to include all factions under one single leadership.”