Hamas reiterates resistance as only way to oppose occupation on eve of Nakba Day

Hamas has categorically rejected all projects aimed at undermining the Palestinian people's rights and their cause, stressing that the much-condemned US "peace" proposal and Israel's annexation plans are atop of these schemes.

In a statement on Thursday and on the eve of the 72nd anniversary of Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), Hamas stressed the Palestinians' right to resist the Israeli occupation with all means possible, including armed resistance as a strategic choice to defend themselves and restore their usurped rights.

On this day back in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their homeland and Israel proclaimed existence.

“Hamas venerates the national unity and for its sake, it has made many concessions and showed a lot of flexibility,” the movement said, reiterating its adherence to the national unity option as a vital factor to boost the national front in the face of Tel Aviv's occupation and plots. 

In the statement, carried by the Palestinian Information Center, Hamas saluted all Palestinians at home and abroad and urged them to widely and actively participate in all events to be organized to commemorate the Nakba Day.

US President Donald Trump officially unveiled his scheme, the so-called deal of the century, in January at the White House with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his side, while Palestinian representatives were not invited.

Iran urges world to take action against Israeli occupation of Palestine

As Palestine prepares to mark Nakba Day, Iran has calls on the international community to take practical steps towards ending decades-long Israeli occupation.

The proposal meets Israel’s demands while creating a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders, enshrining the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allowing the regime to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

The highly provocative proposal, which further denies the right of return for Palestinian refugees to their homeland, is also in total disregard of UN Security Council resolutions and opposed by the vast majority of the international community.

Netanyahu, who is facing a number of criminal indictments, has repeatedly stressed that he would start plans for annexing more areas in the occupied West Bank on July 1, in accordance with Trump’s scheme, further infuriating Palestinians.

Resistance should be given freedom to counter Israeli annexation plot: Palestine’s Hamas

Hamas says the Palestinian resistance movement should be given a free hand to confront the US-Israeli schemes to consolidate Tel Aviv’s occupation of Palestine.

Palestinians organizations slam normalization efforts, stress resistance 

Separately on Thursday, a number of Palestinian organizations based in Europe issued a statement in which they vehemently condemned efforts made by some regional countries to normalize ties with Israel as “a stain” on the struggle for justice and human rights.

The statement was issued by the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestinian Youth Organization (Olive), Palestinian Return Center (PRC), and European Palestinian Communication Forum (Europal) to mark the 72nd anniversary of Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe).

“Despite the systematic suffering, displacement, and oppression that has aimed to eradicate Palestinian identity and the right of return, Palestinians will continue to resist and remain steadfast in defending their human rights,” it read. 

The statement noted that Nakba Day “is an occasion where all Palestinians can emphasize the absolute belief and confidence in both the just cause for which we are all fighting, and the belief that we will inevitably return to the land and holy sites that have been forcibly appropriated from us.”

The Palestinian organizations also stated that Jerusalem al-Quds and Al-Aqsa “remain key pillars of the unified struggle of the Palestinian nation,” adding that “those ceding these pillars and calling for, or pursuing, acts of normalization with the state of occupation are a stain on this struggle for justice and human rights.”

The Palestinian organizations reaffirmed that "return to Palestine is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people," stressing noting that "all unjust Zionist procedures that seek to change the identity of the land upon which our fathers and forefathers resided on will fail."

"We affirm out categorical rejection of all initiatives and projects designed to liquidate the Palestinian issue or diminish the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Foremost amongst these projects is the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’. In this regard, we affirm the right of the Palestinian people to resist these projects using any and all available means within international law," they said.

They also voiced their "total rejection of all acts of normalization with the state of occupation whether political, cultural, artistic, commercial, or in the sports," describing such acts as "detrimental to the pursuit of justice in Palestine."

The Palestinian organizations added that any step toward normalization of ties with Israel "serve to rationalize the crimes and human rights abuses of the occupier and provide the state of occupation with a carte blanche for the furtherance of these crimes."

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