Hamas vows to liberate Palestine on 30th anniversary

Militant organisation Hamas has said Palestine will continue with its project of liberation and resistance in all forms, according to a statement released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its foundation which will be observed on Thursday.

The group on Wednesday said it was preparing the "place and the tools" to lead its people "to liberation" and added that in order to fulfill the plan, "it chose the path of reconciliation and the elimination of all forms of division consciously and insistently, and will remain united behind the gun of liberation", Efe news reported.

Hamas and the Palestinian nationalist party Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, are trying to move forward with a seemingly deadlocked process of reconciliation, under which the Islamist organisation has pledged to surrender control of the Gaza Strip, which they took by force ten years ago, and hand it over to the Palestinian National Authority, chaired by Abbas.

Palestine celebrates the 30th anniversary of its foundation at a time of tensions after the US President Donald Trump announced on December 6 his decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Since then, four Palestinians have died in the in the Gaza Strip, an enclave under blockade, two of which were killed during clashes with Israeli forces and the other two in bombings after Palestinian militias fired rockets into Israel.

The latest clash occurred on Wednesday when a projectile landed on Israeli soil, and another one was fired at a school in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, while two others were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Since December 6, a total of 15 rockets were fired towards Israel without causing damage or victims.

Israel blamed Hamas for these attacks and announced on Wednesday that due to the incidents and the security assessment, the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings, which are a passage of goods and people, respectively, will remain closed on Thursday.

--IANS

pgh/