Hamas Leaders Announce: Rockets On Israel To Continue Following 72-Hour Ceasefire
A number of Hamas’ leaders and official spokesmen told media sources, including Al-Jazeera, that, as no agreement has been reached between the Israelis and Palestinians, the firing of rockets on Israel will resume following the end of the current 72-hour ceasefire at 8 a.m. local time, Friday.
Israeli authorities reported that they were ready to extend the three-day deal beyond Friday’s deadline, in effort to save lives on both sides of the border and had sent a delegation back to Cairo on Wednesday to ensure this goal.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas representative posted on his Twitter feed, “There is no agreement on the extension of the truce.”
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas also confirmed that there would be no extension of the current ceasefire, which both sides have adhered to thus far.
Hamas broke five previous ceasefire agreements with Israel, at least two of which were announced by Hamas themselves, meaning that the terror organisation has lost legitimacy in the eyes of Israel, the U.N. and the world community.
Few right minded people in the world believe a word that comes out of Hamas representative’s mouths, and for good reason. The organization has gone back on almost every agreement it has made with the Israelis, the U.N., and even the Egyptians.
A senior spokesman for Hamas, Osama Hamdan, revealed Hamas’ true intentions in an interview he gave to CNN‘s Wolf Blitzer a few days ago. During the interview Blitzer asked Hamdan to clarify comments he made claiming that Jews kill Christians in order to use their blood to make their Matzos for Passover.
He showed a video clip of Hamdan talking to AL-Quds TV in which he clearly states some horrific and disturbing things about Jewish people. His comments were translated into English and read by Blitzer, but Hamdan failed to deny he said the worrying comments, or take them back.
You have to read it to believe it; this is what Osama Hamdan said:
“We all remember how the Jews used to slaughter Christians in order to mix their blood in their holy matzoh. This is not a figment of the imagination or something taken from a film. It is a fact acknowledged by their own books and historical evidence.”
If that is the position of one of Hamas’ main representatives, what does it say about the rest of the organization? It seems Israel has a difficult task ahead of it in terms of finding a reasonable and acceptable “other side” to negotiate with.
Israel National News reported today that Israel’s Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, responded to Hamas’ most recent comments at a press conference, warning them not to start another war with the Jewish state:
“Fifty-one hours into the ceasefire, Hamas is threatening that it will go back to firing missiles if we do not surrender to its demands. I say here: let them not try us. The IDF is ready and prepared, the Israel Air Force is ready and prepared. Any fire will be met with a heave volley of fire.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Hamas will be good to their word and begin firing rockets on Israel when the current ceasefire officially ends. What is certain is, that if the recent past is anything to go by, there will be much more violence before calm is restored to the region.
