Mon, January 12, 2009
GAZA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said in a televised address on Monday night that Hamas is working on two parallel tracks, the first is resistance and steadfastness, the second is the political track to confront the military aggression on the Palestinian people.
Haneya made the speech to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the pro-Hamas al-Aqsa TV station, and it is his second appearance since the beginning of the Israeli military air and ground offensive on the enclave on Dec. 27 last year.
Haneya was sitting on a chair, and behind him there is a Palestinian flag and a huge old and a curly big picture of the Domof Rock in Jerusalem. He looked exhausted as he was hiding underground for 17 days.
"We are approaching victory," he said in a recorded TV address. Adding that "The blood which has flowed will not have flowed in vain as it will bring us victory, thanks be to God."
Haneya continued "I tell you that after 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not fall."
As he usually does, Haneya addressed words that aims at strengthening the Palestinians' spirits, and using verses from the Moslems' Holy Book of the Quran that talks about patience, power and steadfastness in fighting the enemy.
"In spite of loosing their beloved ones, the resident of the Gaza Strip are not crying and weeping and they are not afraid of the Zionist enemy's aggression," said Haneya.
He called on the Arabs and Moslems all-over the world "to escalate their popular uprisings all-over the Arab and Islamic worlds as long as the Zionist enemy is escalating its aggression on our people."
Haneya voiced more powerful as he said "in spite of the tight blockade and the barbarian war the Zionist enemy is carrying out against the Palestinian people," adding "we have an appointment to meet soon as victory will be to our side."
Israel has been carrying out an ongoing war on the Gaza Strip for 17 days, leaving over 900 people killed and more than 4,000 wounded. Both Israel and Hamas movement, which rules the enclave, refused the UN resolution and the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the Qatari-based al-Jazeera TV channel reported earlier that according to sources from Cairo in Egypt, the talks on reaching a ceasefire with Israel "has achieved a tangible progress."
