Hamas Leader Urges Unison in Face of Israel’s Annexation Plan

Hamas said an effective strategy is needed to thwart the Israeli regime’s contentious plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank and to counter the so-called "deal of the century".

News ID: 450447

Date: 14 July 2020 - 18:01

Rasa - Speaking at a forum on Sunday, the Political Bureau Chief of the Palestinian resistance movement, Ismail Haniyeh, called for a “united stance” against Israel, presstv reported.

The Palestinian official said the annexation plan had unveiled the US-Israel political and ideological alliance aimed at undermining the foundations of the Palestinian issue.

The Hamas leader affirmed that resistance groups will not hesitate to engage in any battle to protect their land and people against threats.

Unity, Haniyeh said, is needed now more than ever both on the popular and official level.

An adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently warned that a third intifada (uprising) could be just around the corner if Israel goes ahead with its highly-contentious plan.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had set July 1 as the date for the start of cabinet discussions on the annexation. Those discussions did not begin, however.

The reason was widening differences between Netanyahu and his coalition partner Benny Gantz, the minister of military affairs.

US President Donald Trump had already given Tel Aviv the green light for the land grab in his self-proclaimed "Deal of the Century", which was unveiled in January with the aim of re-drawing the Middle East map.

There have been indications of Trump's waning support for the annexation, with some arguing that the US president has already too much on his plate to deal with in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis gripping the United States ahead of the November Presidential Election.

Israel’s planned push to illegally consolidate its occupation of Palestine has drawn fierce international condemnations even from some of its closest allies.

The United Nations, the European Union and key Arab countries have all said the West Bank annexation would violate international law and undermine the prospects of establishing a sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 boundaries.

At a recent joint press conference, Hamas and the Fatah resistance movement pledged unity against Israel’s plan and vowed to “topple” Trump's scheme.

Israel intends to annex the lands occupied after the 1967 war.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built on the land since the occupation.

All previous foreign-mediated agreements between Palestinians and Israelis as well as repeated UN resolutions have mandated Tel Aviv to withdraw behind the 1967 borders.

The international community views the entire West Bank and the eastern part of the occupied city of Jerusalem al-Quds as home to an independent Palestinian state in the future.