GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) – A founding member of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has condemned the killing of six Palestinians after Zionist troops raided several areas in the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, stressing that the occupying regime only understands the language of force.
Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau abroad, said, “The martyrs of the resistance front have paved the way for the liberation of occupied [Palestinian] lands, and the re-emergence of resistance in the West Bank. Despite the persecution of Palestinians, targeted killings of resistance fighters, cruel siege imposed on the city of Jenin and elsewhere in the West Bank, and mass arrests, the resistance continues to flourish.”
He added, “The barbaric crimes of the Zionist regime will never undermine the determination of Palestinian resistance fighters. On the contrary, it shows that the spirit of resistance runs high among all Palestinians.”
The senior Hamas official also called on all Palestinians to preserve national unity and tighten the noose around Zionist settlers.
Meshaal went on to stress the need for turning Jenin, Nablus and other West Bank towns and villages into a strong fortress of resistance against the occupying regime.
“Al-Quds serves as a source of inspiration in order to transform the path of popular uprising (intidafa) and resistance, and secure the complete liberation of occupied lands as well as return of Palestinian refugees to their ancestral homes,” he stated.
Early on Tuesday morning, large numbers of Zionist troops stormed the city of Nablus, located approximately 49 kilometers north of Al-Quds.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, six Palestinians were killed by Zionist fire.
Palestinian health and security officials said one of those killed was unarmed.
The Palestinian Health Ministry later reported that another Palestinian youth, Qusay al-Tamimi, was killed during confrontations with Zionist troops in the village of Nabi Saleh near the city of Ramallah.
Meanwhile, Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups convened an emergency meeting, and called for national mourning, major strikes and protest rallies across the occupied Palestinian territories in the aftermath of assassination of five Palestinian men killed by Zionist troops during a raid in Nablus.
“We are telling our brethren in Nablus that we will continue to stand on their side. We will hopefully fight within your ranks in the near future. The resistance campaign, which has broken out in the West Bank and across the occupied Palestinian lands, carries this message that the Zionist regime is in decline,” Suhail al-Hindi, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said.
“Attempts by the Israeli occupation forces to suffocate the resistance front in Nablus are doomed to failure. We want all residents of the Gaza Strip to stage demonstrations in solidarity with our compatriots in Nablus, and urge young Gazans to respond to the latest Israeli crime properly,” Khaled al-Batsh, another top Hamas official, said.