By IRNA,
London : A Hamas advisor says Israel is intensifying the Gaza siege in the hope of forcing Hamas to surrender the strip or accept the conditions of the Quartet.
“They (Quartet members) are asking Hamas to recognize Israel, disarm and accept all agreements concluded by the PLO,” Azam Tamimi told IRNA, reiterating that the Islamic movement will never accept such conditions.
Tamimi said the whole population of Gaza is willing to resist and stand against external pressure and the Israeli blockade.
“Hamas is willing to continue with the resistance. That’s the only thing they can do. The entire population of Gaza is suffering as the result of the siege,” he said.
Asked about the expectations of Hamas from the international community, Tamimi said sanctions have been heightened against Hamas as the result of the pressures from the United States on other countries.
“I don’t think Hamas expects much from the international community because the United States and its allies are governing the so-called international community and encouraging the rest of the world to impose sanctions on Hamas.”
Asked about the role of the Egyptian government in easing the blockade of Gaza, Tamimi said if Egypt opens the Rafah crossing, the siege will come to an end.
“The real siege and sanctions are the ones imposed by Egypt. Egypt is the cause of the problem because it refuses to end the sufferings of Palestinians by simply opening the crossing,” he said.
Tamimi, however, suggested that since the collapse of the Egyptian initiative to bring together different Palestinian factions in Cairo, the humanitarian situation is “getting worse in Gaza”.
Referring to the election of Barack Obama as the new US president and any probable change in the situation of Palestine, author of “Hamas: Unwritten Chapters”, called for a change in the US foreign policy.
“It’s naive if somebody is pinning hope on him. He is in a better position to change the American policy but the thing is he cannot do it without the support of certain forces,” Tamimi said.