'Long struggle ahead.' Haniyeh
Photo: AFP
Haniyeh: Battle against Israel will be long, cruel
Palestinian prime minister tells journalists in Gaza ‘Palestinians will not fight one another, and there will not be a civil war,’ calls on international community to ‘pressure Israel into halting aerial attacks on Gaza and end aggression against Palestinians’
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that “the Palestinian people, especially those active on the ground, must take care of themselves – of their blood and of their people – as the battle against the occupation will be long and cruel.”
Speaking to journalists during a tour of Palestinian matriculation exam centers, Haniyeh warned Palestinians of the pitfalls of internal fighting, adding that “the Palestinians will not fight one another, and there will not be a civil war.”
As to the Israeli Air Force attack on a Gaza armory early Wednesday, the Palestinian Prime Minister called on the international community to pressure Israel into halting the aerial attacks on the Strip and end the ‘aggression against the Palestinians, especially at a time when Palestinian high school students are taking their matriculation exams.”
Meanwhile, Fatah and Hamas representatives met Wednesday to discuss the recent violent confrontations between the factions; the meeting, which was held under the mediation of the Egyptian security delegation to Gaza, was aimed at reaching an understanding on a ceasefire that would mark the end of the internal fighting that has claimed the lives of numerous Palestinians from both sides.
Prior to the meeting, two members of Hamas’ special security force were injured when gunmen, apparently from Fatah, opened fire at them in Jabalya.
Palestinians also reported of a botched attempt to set off a bomb near the home of the Jabalya Police commander. It was also reported that a severed finger was found earlier by Palestinian police officers, who believe it belonged to a Hamas activist who set off a bomb in Beit Lahiya.
