Israel snubs Hamas ceasefire proposal

TEHRAN, May 3 (MNA) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s insistence on continuing the confrontation with Hamas and his rejection of the recent ceasefire proposal prove that the Zionist regime is still following a warmongering policy and wants to continue massacring the innocent people of Gaza.

Through Egyptian mediation, 11 Palestinian factions recently arrived at an agreement to establish a ceasefire with Israel, but it seems the Zionist regime is opposed to any plan that could bring about the establishment of peace in occupied Palestine.

Zionist officials apparently believe that the proposal is a sign of the weakness of the jihadi movements, and especially Hamas, and that the Israeli army should take advantage of the group’s compromised situation and destroy Hamas.

Israel has imposed an economic siege on Gaza for over ten months and is implementing its expansionist plans in the region through the recent brutal attacks on the city.

The Zionist regime is attempting to give the impression that it seeks peace by sending peace proposals to Syria, while at the same time it is trying to alter the demography of Palestine through the bombardments of Gaza.

It seems that Israel plans to escalate its air strikes in order to force the residents of the Gaza Strip to migrate to the West Bank and Rafah, Egypt so that the Palestinian Authority government can gain control of all the territories occupied in 1967.

In their new plan, the Zionists intend to expel the Palestinians who live in the territories occupied in 1948 as part of the project to Judaize Palestine.

The current global political climate, the silence of international organizations, and the presidential election campaign in the United States have made Israel even more determined to implement such plans.

The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates’ competition for the support of the Zionist lobby gives Zionist regime officials the opportunity to demand more ransom for their backing.

Israeli officials are currently pursuing a carrot-and-stick policy in the region. On the one hand, they claim to be prepared to negotiate with Syria, but on the other hand, they refuse to accept the Palestinian groups’ ceasefire proposal.

Surely, if the Zionist regime continues committing war crimes in Palestine, the jihadi movements will adopt the measures necessary to save the lives of the Gazans, and this will cause an escalation of the violence in the occupied territories.

(May 4 Tehran Times Opinion Column, by Hassan Hanizadeh)

RMN/HG

END

MNA

News ID 27730