AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A senior Hamas official urged Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to march on Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan.
“The siege of Al-Aqsa and the siege of Gaza are one and the same,” Ismail Haniyeh, the political bureau chief of Hamas, said in a televised message on Wednesday.
Haniyeh was referring to an announcement by the Israeli regime that it would impose restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of occupied al-Quds during Ramadan according to “security needs.”
The first day of the holy month of Ramadan this year is likely to fall on March 11.
“Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites must be managed in accordance with international law. Our people will defend their mosques, churches, and holy sites with all forms of resistance.”
The chief of the Palestinian resistance movement said the rise in Israel’s attacks in the West Bank is part of a comprehensive plan to displace all Palestinians.
Ramadan has historically seen an escalation of Israeli violence against the Palestinians, particularly around the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This year’s Ramadan is expected to be more violent than previous years given the regime’s incessant bombing of the Gaza Strip.
The genocidal US-backed war started after Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities.
The Israeli regime has also killed at least 410 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, in addition to over 4,600 others injured.
On the ongoing talks on a ceasefire, Haniyeh said Hamas was showing flexibility in negotiations with the regime but at the same time it was ready to continue fighting.
“Any flexibility shown in negotiating with Israel is matched by our willingness to defend our people.”
The indirect ceasefire talks have continued for months through mediation by Egypt and Qatar.
Media reports say Hamas has received a draft proposal from the truce talks in Paris which allows for a 40-day initial halt in all military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The pause would potentially allow the release of 40 Israeli captives in exchange for 400 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. It also includes the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza as well as the entry of aid trucks into the besieged territory.
In his remarks, Haniyeh also called on the Axis of Resistance to step up support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
“It is the duty of the Arab and Islamic nations to take the initiative to break the starvation conspiracy in Gaza,” Haniyeh said, referring to Israel’s policy of blocking the Palestinians’ access to food.
Over the past few months, the regional resistance axis has been engaged in missile and drone attacks against the occupying regime.
Yemen and resistance groups in Lebanon and Iraq have been shoring up the drive by launching numerous operations against Israeli and US targets alike.
“Israel is committing the worst atrocities known to humanity, including the extermination and displacement of civilians.”
“The international community, most notably Arab countries, has a duty to confront and restrain Israel’s actions to prevent a ground invasion of Rafah and starvation in the northern part of Gaza.”
Since early October 2023, Israel has killed nearly 30,000 people in Gaza. A stunning number of the victims are women and children.
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