Hamas warns new protests will go further, surprise Israel
Defiant Hamas leaders warned Sunday that Palestinians would continue their protests along the Gaza fence, vowing to go beyond the barrier next time and promising fresh surprises for Israel.
“The Palestinians will not give up the ‘right of return’,” former Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said during a visit to Turkey. “We will not recognize the legitimacy of the occupation and we will not surrender in the face of the siege [on the Gaza Strip].”
“The Zionist enemy thought that the Gaza Strip was easy prey,” Mashaal said in a speech before more than 1,000 Turkish delegates attending a conference in Istanbul. “They [Israel] believed that the people of the Gaza Strip are like metal that can’t be broken. They also discovered that they will not be able to defeat the resistance. Our grandfathers, fathers, and sons fought there and were martyred there.”
Fifteen Palestinians were killed and scores more were wounded as tens of thousands of Gazans marched on Israel’s border fence on Friday.
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that at least 10 of those killed — the Gazans reported a death toll of 15 — were members of Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas.
IDF spokesman Ronen Manelis said Friday that the military had faced “a violent, terrorist demonstration at six points” along the fence.
He said the IDF used “pinpoint fire” wherever there were attempts to breach or damage the security fence. “All the fatalities were aged 18-30, several of the fatalities were known to us, and at least two of them were members of Hamas commando forces,” he said in a late afternoon statement.
Read More: Times of Israel
