Hamas warns against US ‘deal of the century’ aimed at demolishing Palestinian cause

AL jazeera
December 27, 2017

Dec 27: Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has said that the US had offered the Palestinian Authority government a Jerusalem suburb, Abu Dis, as an alternative to East Jerusalem for the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Speaking at a meeting with Palestinian clan leaders in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Haniya labelled President Donald Trump's recent decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital a ploy to demolish the Palestinian cause in line with the so-called deal of the century.

"The US is still offering deals and continues to be on the side of the Palestinian Authority (PA) one way or another, in order to give them a capital or entity in the Abu Dis area, away from Jerusalem, with a bridge linking to al-Aqsa Mosque allowing for the freedom of prayer," he said.

Haniya said certain regional forces are seeking to divide the West Bank into three sections, in addition to creating a political entity in the Gaza Strip with its own controlling powers.

Al Jazeera's Wael al-Dahdouh, reporting from Gaza City, said Haniya cautioned local, regional and international players against working to implement the US plan for the Middle East, which is yet to be published.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a White Houser adviser, has been spearheading efforts to gauge the possibility of resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"Haniya sent a warning to all the parties that are involved in this 'deal of the century', whether they are Palestinian, Arab or Muslim, or international," Dahdouh said.

"There are also signs that the Israelis will take advantage of this deal to impose their version of facts on the ground, such as the Judaization of Jerusalem bill that will be voted on tomorrow."

Haniya said the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel introduces new risks that could affect the nature of the relationship between Palestine and Jordan.

He cited reports of discussions regarding an alternative homeland for Palestinians and a confederation between Jordan and Palestine.

Haniya said he hasd spoken to King Abdullah of Jordan about what he saw as the dangers arising from the Jerusalem decision, the resettlement project and alternative homeland.

He also asked Palestinians to continue their "uprising" against Trump's decision, and for popular movements in the Arab and Muslim capitals to carry on their protests.

Addressing the ongoing reconciliation process between the two main Palestinian groups, Fatah and Hamas, Haniya said the internal political issues need to be addressed quickly In order for a unified government to devote itself to major national issues.

He also sounded a warning regarding the potential "grave" consequences of the slow implementation of the Egypt-brokered reconciliation agreement, which was signed in October in Cairo by Fatah and Hamas representatives.

For his part, Yahya Sinwar, the prime minister of the Hamas government, speaking at Tuesday's meeting in Gaza, called for efforts to support reconciliation efforts aimed at "uniting in the battle of Jerusalem".

He also demanded that the Palestinian leadership "convene the unified leadership framework of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the presence of all Palestinians".

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News Network
October 1,2024

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says it targeted Israel's Glilot military base and Mossad headquarters in the outskirts of Tel Aviv with salvos of Fadi-4 rockets.

Israeli reports said several settlers were injured in the rocket barrage from Lebanon on Tel Aviv.

The reports said the rocket attack from Lebanon was “the largest” since the beginning of the war.

Hezbollah earlier said it struck gatherings of Israeli troopers in artillery and rocket attacks on the northern part of the occupied Palestinian territories in retaliation for Israel’s deadly strikes on Lebanon.

In separate statements released on Tuesday, the resistance movement said the gatherings of the enemy troops were hit at the Shtula, Metulla, Avivim and Rosh Pina settlements.

The resistance also targeted the Doviv barracks with a Falaq-2 rockets as well as the gathering of Israeli forces near the settlement of Rosh Pina with a rocket barrage.

The resistance group added that it had conducted the operations in support of “steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and … their valiant and honorable resistance, and in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

The attacks came amid a major escalation in Israel’s acts of terror and aggression in Lebanon that saw the regime assassinating Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on southern Beirut.

The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since early October 2023 has reached 1,745 with some 8,767 injured, according to Lebanese government data. In response, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets and drones towards Israeli targets.

The deadly exchange of fire was sparked by Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed 41,615 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 96,359 others over the past year.

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News Network
September 28,2024

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The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has confirmed the assassination of its secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in massive Israeli airstrikes targeting residential buildings in southern Beirut on Friday.

“His Eminence, the Master of Resistance, the righteous servant, has joined his Lord and His pleasure as a great martyr — an outstanding, courageous, wise, and insightful leader — joining the ranks of the radiant martyrs of Karbala in the divine journey of faith, following in the footsteps of the prophets and martyr imams,” Hezbollah said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.

“The leadership of Hezbollah vows to the highest, most sacred, and dearest martyr in our journey, filled with sacrifices and martyrs, to continue its struggle against the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast, honorable people,” it added.

Since Friday afternoon, Israeli warplanes have conducted over 30 airstrikes, targeting residential buildings in Burj al-Barajneh, Kafaat, Choueifat, Hadath, al-Laylaki, and Mreijeh, with local media reporting upwards of 300 casualties as a result of the aggression.

Footage broadcast by al-Manar television channel from the crowded area of Beirut’s Dahiyeh shows flattened buildings, streets filled with rubble and clouds of smoke and dust above the area.

Martyrs’ Square, Beirut’s central public area, was crowded with exhausted and anxious families sheltering outdoors.

The recent attacks are part of the Israeli regime’s intensified assault on Lebanon, which has become more deadly this week, resulting in over 700 deaths nationwide since Monday.

The new attacks came less than a week after the Tel Aviv regime killed 38 people, including three children and seven women as well as senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil in an attack on a residential building in a southern Beirut suburb.

Earlier on Saturday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the brutal attacks by the “rabid Zionist dog” on Lebanon revealed the shortsightedness and foolish policies of Israeli officials, calling on all Muslims to unite behind Lebanese people and Hezbollah.

“The Zionist criminals need to know that they are far too weak to be able to inflict any significant damage on the solid structure of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. All the resistance forces in the region stand with and support Hezbollah,” the Leader said in a statement on Saturday.

“The Lebanese have not forgotten that there was a time when the soldiers of the occupying regime were advancing toward Beirut, and Hezbollah stopped them, and made Lebanon proud. Today too, by the grace and power of God, Lebanon will make the transgressing, malicious enemy regret its actions,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted. 

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News Network
September 28,2024

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A new wave of Israeli airstrikes have reportedly hit the Dahiyeh area in the south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which had come under deadly aerial attacks by the regime just hours earlier.

The strikes targeted several buildings in the al-Hadath and Laylaki neighborhoods in the area on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, reports pointed to “a third wave of strikes” on al-Hadath as well as strikes against Choueifat, another southern Beirut suburb, with subsequent accounts putting the total number of the attacks at more than 30.

The Israeli military claimed that it was conducting strikes targeting “weapons belonging to Hezbollah…that were stored beneath civilian buildings” in southern Beirut.

Hezbollah's Media Relations’ Office, however, asserted, “The enemy's claims about the presence of weapons or weapons depots in the civilian buildings targeted by the bombing in the southern suburb are false.”

Simultaneous Israeli airstrikes targeted areas near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, including al-Bass, Burj al-Shamali, and al-Maashouq.

Also on Saturday, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon warned that the country was facing bloodshed not seen in decades, and that the crisis could deteriorate even further.

"The recent escalations in Lebanon are nothing short of catastrophic,” Imran Riza said. “We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning.”

On Friday, Israeli warplanes struck at least six residential structures in Dahiyeh's Haret Hreik neighborhood, killing at least eight people and wounding some 80 others.

The attacks came as part of the regime’s escalation against Lebanon that has been targeting the country since October 7, when Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The escalation has taken a deadlier turn since Monday, claiming the lives of more than 700 people across the country.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

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