Don't criticize Qassam fire, Mashaal tells Arab leaders

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal has called on the leaders of Arab states not to criticize the Qassam rocket fire on Israel during the Arab Summit scheduled to begin in Damascus on Saturday.

In a letter sent to the Arab leaders, Mashaal added that his movement "is willing to take a proposal for a truce with Israel seriously, as long as it will be an overall and mutual move."

In the letter published Friday morning by the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper, the Hamas leader defended the Palestinian organizations' use of the rockets, claiming that this was "a limited weapon".

"We call on you to stand by the Palestinian people and its legitimate resistance from the political, economic and moral aspects, in order to confront the wild Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including all of its forms of killing, assassinations, arrests, raids and destruction.

"We have no other choice but to note that the Gaza missiles and the limited weapons the Palestinian resistance possesses are aimed at defending our people and our land.

"This weapon is a response to the occupation and aggressiveness. Nevertheless, all the Palestinian resistance factions have expressed their willingness to take the truce issue seriously."

Mashaal went on to express his hope that "the Palestinian people and its legitimate resistance will not be criticized over the events and the escalation which took place…after all the diplomatic efforts, negotiations and attempts to reach an agreement have failed in leading to the end of the occupation, to a cessation in the aggressiveness and to the protection of our children, women and members of our people.

"This people has the right to have the (Muslim) nation, including its leaders and government, stand by it, support it and provide it with the firm standing factors on this land and assist in the resistance and the response to the aggressiveness."

In the letter, Mashaal also called on Arab leaders to launch a swift initiative which will make Israel lift the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, and to broker the dialogue between Hamas and Fatah – based on the Yemeni initiative.