HANEYYA: IN 2016 RESISTANCE IN WEST BANK WILL BE AS POWERFUL AS IN GAZA

Gaza, 16 Rabiul Awwal 1437/28 December 2015 (MINA) – Deputy head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haneyya, said Sunday the group was “many times stronger” than the last time it fought the Israeli occupation, in a speech marking the anniversary of the Furqan war against the Israeli military.

Appearing at a celebration organized by the police force in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haneyya praised Hamas’s performances in previous Israeli offensives, particularly the first war—known as the Battle of Furqan—on the besieged coastal enclave.

He said the Israeli wars on Gaza have made Hamas many times stronger, and the next time Israel decides to attack Gaza, it will pay “an even bigger price,” The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

He also told the crowd that “in 2016, Hamas in the West Bank will be just as powerful as in blockaded Gaza.”

“Gaza has stood firm despite the three wars, tough blockade, and thorny challenges it has been through,” Haneyya added.

Speaking about the recent wave of Israeli terrorism rocking Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, Haneyya praised the anti-occupation uprising, saying it succeeded in shaking Israelis’ sense of security.

“The Intifada will be ongoing until the land is liberated,” he said.

“The Intifada is so great that it cannot be contained. It is one of liberation rather than mere incitement,” Hamas deputy head further stated.  (T/P011/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)