Leader of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar called on Monday for popular resistance and a meeting of all the Palestinian factions to force Israel to relieve the suffering of the coastal enclave.
Sinwar’s declaration followed a meeting he had headed with United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland.
“It was a bad meeting,” Sinwar told reporters following the meeting, adding that there was no “positivity towards resolving the crisis in Gaza.”
Sinwar complained about a lack of initiative and signs for helping ease the humanitarian disaster in the Hamas-ruled strip.
“The occupation is trying to blackmail Palestinians,” the 59-year-old leader claimed.
Wennesland had arrived in Gaza on Monday to oversee follow-up negotiations and consultations aiming at consolidating a truce between Israel and Hamas, but the latter rejected his mediation because it believes the UN failed in putting enough pressure on Tel Aviv.
Moreover, Sinwar informed Wennesland that Hamas was seeking to meet with Palestinian factions to look for more ways to pressure Israel.
In the same breath, Sinwar accused Israel of trying to blackmail Palestinian factions in Gaza by blocking a Qatari grant that would help lift the strip’s civilians from extreme poverty and by restricting fishing areas and the entry of fuel meant for power stations.
“The occupation is punishing every Palestinian citizen by cutting off the electricity powering homes,” said Sinwar.
His unprecedented hostility towards the UN delegation holds an implicit threat that Hamas may resume its attacks against Israel through incendiary balloons and holding protests along the Gaza borders.
