Palestine in the News
Long Live the Palestinian Resistance! It Will Prevail!
Some
35,000 Palestinians participate in performed Tarawih prayers in
the
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound March 11, 2024, the first day of
Ramadan,
despite the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupiers.
As Palestinian Muslims and Muslims the world over observe the holy month of Ramadan, a time to share, celebrate and reflect on life itself, Palestinians are grieving, families are separated, people are starving and heartbroken.
Reports inform that the Israeli monsters have either destroyed or diminished 184 mosques in Gaza, including the centuries-old Omari Mosque, the oldest in Palestine, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in December of last year. Millenia of history, historical records, artifacts and writings are destroyed. As in the case of the destruction of schools, universities, libraries and cultural centres, everything is being done intentionally by the Israelis to wipe out all that binds the Palestinian people together as one. The resistance is their memory, the symbol of their cohesion, their honour, dignity and life even as people gather to worship and pray on the rubble of destroyed mosques or on the street surrounded by death and destruction. Meanwhile, Israeli forces beat back Muslim worshipers with batons to prevent their entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers to mark the start of Ramadan in occupied East Jerusalem.
Prayers
at the destroyed Al Furqan Mosque, in Gaza,
March 8 (left) and 10, 2024
On the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haneyya elaborated the common stand of the resistance forces for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war. The Palestinian Information Center reported on Haneyya's remarks:
"Our Movement over the past months, through the front line led by the factions of the resistance, foremost among them the Al-Qassam Brigades, has defended its people on all battlefronts, on every inch and every street of our beloved territory, and has recorded glorious pages in the history of this people's resistance, uprisings, and successive revolutions," Haneyya affirmed.
"I want to clarify to our people in general, our nation, and the free people of the world, but specifically to our people in Gaza, that since the beginning, in this negotiation process through the mediation of our brothers in Qatar and Egypt, we have set several conditions in order to reach an agreement, most importantly that we want an agreement that leads to a ceasefire and an end to the war," Haneyya continued.
He said: "We want to translate this legendary resilience, heroism, courage, and sacrifices into real achievements for our people on the same battlefield and on the national and general political level."
"We also want to thwart all suspicious schemes that target Gaza in its national, administrative, and political dimensions, what is now referred to as the aftermath of the war on Gaza," he added. "We have insisted on the most important principle to reach an agreement, which is a comprehensive ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza, the complete withdrawal of the occupation army from all the territory of the Strip, the full and unconditional return of the displaced to their homes, and all the humanitarian issues, such as relief, assistance, shelter, reconstruction, and the lifting of the blockade," Haneyya continued. He said, "We also seek to reach an honourable deal that includes the exchange of prisoners, and the Movement has shown high responsibility, positivity, and flexibility in all dialogue sessions and negotiations with our brothers in Egypt and Qatar."
Haneyya said Israel is solely responsible for failing to discuss a ceasefire leading to an end to the war, reiterating that even hours before the start of Ramadan, resistance forces had not received any indication from Israeli officials of interest to engage in discussions aimed at a ceasefire and ending the war.
"I tell you with clarity that the responsibility for not reaching an agreement lies with the occupation and the government of the Zionist enemy because they do not want to commit to the basic principles of the agreement. Nevertheless, I say that we are open to continuing the negotiations, open to any formulas that achieve these principles and end this aggression."
"We do not want to give an agreement that does not end the war on the Gaza Strip or that does not return our displaced people to their homes, or an agreement that does not guarantee the withdrawal of the Zionist enemy from the Gaza Strip, especially from the central part of the Strip to outside the Gaza Strip," Haneyya said.
"We do not want to give an agreement that does not ensure the humanitarian issues for our people in the entire Gaza Strip, especially in the northern part of the Strip, which suffers from the policy of starvation, where children, the elderly, and women die due to this hunger imposed by the enemy through its military blockade on the city of Gaza and the northern part of the Strip," he said.
"But we certainly honor the holy month of Ramadan and what it carries of cultural, jihadist, and intellectual stock for our people and our nation. We do not exchange this occasion for any drop of blood of a child, a woman, an elderly person, a martyr, or a fighter from the sons of our people today," Haneyya stressed.
Regarding the condition of the resistance's agreement to proceed with negotiations, Haneyya clarified, "Today, I say if we receive a clear position from the mediators about the occupation's commitment to withdrawal, cessation of aggression, and the return of the displaced ready to reach the completion of the stages of this agreement and to show flexibility in terms of the issue of exchange and prisoners."
Haneyya made it clear that, "Yes, the issue of prisoners is important, and the enemy must understand that it will pay a price in the issue of exchange. But among the priorities is the protection of our people, the cessation of aggression, the cessation of massacres, the return of the displaced, and the opening of a political horizon for our cause and our people."
He continued: "This is what I wanted to clarify to you, brothers and sisters, so that no one falls prey to rumors and biased media campaigns. We know that there is a psychological war being waged by this occupation and attempts to sow discord and create chaos, but all of that will fail."
As Ramadan begins across the Muslim world, all people of conscience are seething with indignation and reeling from the pain and grief the U.S. and Israelis and countries such as Canada are imposing on the children, women and all people of Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. May the people of Palestine find the strength to overcome every challenge they are facing.
Long Live the Resistance! It Will
Prevail!
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 17 - March 12, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54171.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca