Israel is to blame for the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a senior Hamas leader said on Tuesday adding that this is in spite of the punitive measures imposed on the enclave by the Palestinian Authority.

Speaking to Quds Press Salah Al-Bardaweel said: “Abbas’ plan to impose new punishments is part of the security and political measures with Israel. This is an attempt by Abbas to get the world’s attention on him at a time when he feels the occupation and the Americans are looking for someone else to run the PA.”

However, according to Al-Bardaweel, Abbas “chose the wrong time to escalate his hostility against Gaza as the international community believes it is on the verge of an explosion and is working to maintain calmness, not to cause chaos.”

Al-Bardaweel stressed that Gaza residents would hit back against Israel in the face of new measures by the PA “because they know that the occupation is the reason of the sickness.”

“All facts on the ground prove that the Israeli occupation does not want to start a new war on Gaza, but we [Hamas] are a resistance movement whose goal is to liberate its land and holy sites from the occupation and to defend its people. Therefore, we are ready for all possibilities.”

Meanwhile, the senior Hamas leader said that his movement is interested in any international effort aiming at reducing the pressure on Palestinians and to help them regain their rights.

“We are ready to sit with anyone in the world on condition he is ready to put pressure on the Israeli occupation to leave our land and our sky,” he said. “Even if it is the US,” he said, “but this must not be part of the ‘Deal of the Century’ which is an extension of Oslo.”

On Monday evening, Abbas accused Hamas of targeting the convoy of the PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Gaza last Tuesday and announced he would impose new punitive measures against the Gaza Strip.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency
Translated by: Middle East Monitor

In collaboration with the Palestinian Media Forum