“Since 1948, the Zionist enemy has never waited for excuses to commit crimes against our people,” Hamas said in a statement.
The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas said on Thursday it regretted remarks by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in which he accused the group of having given Israel “pretexts” to wage war on Gaza, AFP reported.
“We express our regret regarding the remarks made by the president of the Palestinian Authority… at the Arab summit held in Manama,” Hamas said in a statement.
In the statement, Hamas said that Israel, which has been killing, terrorizing and torturing defenseless Palestinians since 1948, does not need pretexts to commit more crimes against them.
“Since 1948, the Zionist enemy has never waited for excuses to commit crimes against our people,” the statement said.
The movement added that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7 constituted the most important episode in the Palestinian people’s struggle against the Israeli occupation, which violates their rights and sanctities, and abuses all Palestinians including prisoners.
In the statement, Hamas reiterated its keenness to complete national unity, saying its leadership has shown the required flexibility at all stages, in order to strengthen the internal front and unify the national ranks, including in the recent meetings that took place in Moscow and Beijing.
What Did Abbas Say?
Abbas said on Thursday that the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas gave Israel “a pretext” to wage war on Gaza with its military operation on October 7, Arab media reported.
“The military operation carried out by Hamas by a unilateral decision on that day, October 7, provided Israel with more pretexts and justifications to attack the Gaza Strip,” Abbas told an Arab League summit in Bahrain.
Addressing the 33rd Arab League summit, Abbas said that the Palestinian government has not received the financial support it had expected from international and regional partners.
“It has now become critical to activate the Arab safety net, to boost the resilience of our people and to enable the government to carry out its duties,” Abbas said, according to Al-Arabiya.
Support for Abbas Dropped
A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research last December showed that support for Hamas has more than tripled in the occupied West Bank compared to three months earlier.
In the Gaza Strip, support for the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has also increased despite the war and the difficult conditions the population is enduring in the besieged enclave.
Moreover, “support for President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party drops significantly” according to the poll.
“The same is true for the trust in the PA as a whole, as demand for its dissolution rises to nearly 60%, the highest percentage ever recorded in PSR polls.”
The most shocking number, however, is the one concerning Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “Demand for Abbas’ resignation is rising to around 90 percent, and even higher in the West Bank,” according to the poll.
When asked about the military operation carried out in southern Israel by Hamas on October 7, the overwhelming majority – 81% to 89% in the West Bank and 69% in the Gaza Strip – said it was a “response to settler attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and on Palestinian citizens and for the release of prisoners from Israeli prisons.”
Also, a vast majority – 72% to 82% in the West Bank and 57% in the Gaza Strip – supported Hamas’ decision to attack Israel.
When asked if they think Hamas committed atrocities on October 7, the overwhelming majority said no.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 35,303 Palestinians have been killed, and 79,261 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
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