Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders say truce efforts failed

Sunday May 25, 2008 07:12

by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Two leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movements stated on Saturday that the Egyptian efforts to achieving a truce deal between the Palestinian resistance and Israel have failed due to Israeli preconditions and stances which reject to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Hamas Movement

The two leaders added that Israel is rejecting some of the articles of a truce offer which was presented by Egypt. They added that although they had several reservations on the offer, the two movements will not obstruct efforts to achieve a progress which would ease the suffering of the people.

Nafith Azzam, one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad, said that his movement wants the suffering of the people to end.

He also stated that negotiations with Israel would not bring any positive outcome to the Palestinian people, and called on president Mahmoud Abbas, to completely halt negotiations with Israel especially since it is ongoing with its attacks against the Palestinian people and their land.

Azzam also stated that the siege on Gaza aims at pushing the Palestinian people to surrender their rights and their legitimate resistance. He added that this siege is a low death to the residents.

Ismail Radwan, one of the prominent leaders of Hamas, said that all efforts to achieve a trice deal are continuously obstructed by Israeli obstacles, adding that “the occupation wants a free truce, without opening the border crossing, and without ending the siege on Gaza”.

He also said that the Palestinians will remain steadfast and will not grant Israeli any free truce or concessions.

Radwan called on the Arab League and the Arab Ministerial Committee to implement their decisions to break the siege on Gaza.

He further said that the League practiced efforts to end the internal fighting in Lebanon and should now practice the same efforts to restore the Palestinian unity and to accelerate the opening of the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt in order to provide Gaza with the needed supplies.

Radwan demanded president Abbas to initiate talks between all factions without any preconditions in accordance to the Cairo agreement, the Mecca agreement and the National Unity Document.