Hamas mulls escalation with Israel, accuses Egypt of delaying Gaza reconstruction

Middle East Monitor  /  December 6, 2021

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, is mulling escalation with the Israeli occupation over its continuous siege on Gaza Strip, Al-Jazeera reported a Hamas source as saying on Monday evening.

According to the source, Al-Jazeera also said that Hamas had accused Egypt of delaying the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

The reason for the potential escalation, the source told Al-Jazeera, is the continuous Israeli aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque and targeting prisoners inside Israeli jails.

“This will explode the situation,” the source said. “We will not allow the retention of the current situation, and the coming stage will prove the credibility of our warnings.”

Al-Jazeera said that the source is a Hamas leader, pointing out that he said: “We express our deepest displeasure with the behaviour of the Egyptian mediator and its procrastination regarding its promises towards Gaza.”

He added: “Egypt did not respect what it had pledged to Hamas and the Palestinian resistance factions regarding the reconstruction of Gaza and easing the siege.”

The source reiterated: “Egypt continues harassing Palestinian travelers from the Gaza Strip,” saying “it still preventing thousands from travelling without any justifications.”

He concluded: “Egypt’s behaviour means it has given up its pledges to oblige Israel [to respect the ceasefire conditions] in return for the resistance commitment to the ceasefire.”