A senior Hamas leader says the Palestinian resistance movement is set to continue building and developing the weapons of “resistance” until the liberation of Israeli-occupied Palestinian lands.
In a Saturday sermon on the occasion of Eid al-Adha in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh said Hamas “would continue to build and develop the weapon of resistance,” noting, “We will do so until all of our land is liberated.”
The Hamas official also said the Palestinian group’s weapons are “aimed solely at the [Israeli] enemy” and pose no threat to any Arab or Muslim country.
Haniyeh pointed to the retaliatory rockets fired by Palestinian resistance fighters during Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, saying, “The enemy saw some of the weapons that we have in our arsenal during the recent war.”
“There will be no harm done, nor will there be any negotiations over the weapons of the resistance,” said Haniyeh, adding that Hamas will pursue its demands for Israeli authorities to stand trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their crimes in Gaza.
The Israeli military unleashed aerial attacks on Gaza in early July and later expanded its military campaign with a ground invasion into the Palestinian strip. Over 2,130 Palestinians, including around 570 children, lost their lives and some 11,000 were injured in the raids.
In response, Palestinian resistance fighters rained retaliatory rockets on Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv. Israeli sources said more than 70 Israelis were killed in the Israeli war, but Hamas puts the number at more than 150.
