Bardawil urges Africa Arab summit to prioritize Palestinian cause and Gaza siege

Senior Hamas official Salah Al-Bardawil called on the Arab and African leaders who will attend the third Africa Arab summit to be held today in Kuwait to pay the utmost attention to the Palestinian cause and the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement to Quds Press, Bardawil described the Palestinian cause as the most important file to the Arab, African and Islamic worlds.

“The Palestinian cause is an Arab, African, Islamic and humanitarian cause, and everyone has a duty to defend it and support the Palestinian people’s struggle for the liberation of their land and the return to their homes,” the Hamas official stated.

Bardawil also demanded the conferees and the Arab and African institutions to stop dealing with de facto president Mahmoud Abbas as a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

“In fact, the persons who represent the Palestinian people in events like the Africa Arab summit must be those who were elected by the Palestinian people and not appointed, and unfortunately the official institutions still deal with Abbas as a representative of the Palestinian people, while the real representatives are ignored,” he added.

“We demand the Arab and African leaders to adopt the democratic system as a gateway for their relationship with the nations because democracy is the most suitable means to bring stability and safety for their governments,” the Hamas official underlined.

He also called on the Arab and African leaders to address the Jewish dangers threatening Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque and to work on ending the inhumane blockade on the Gaza Strip.

For his part, Ezzat Al-Resheq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, called on the Africa Arab summit to take tangible steps to end the unjust blockade imposed on Gaza, rebuild it, support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and protect the Palestinian refugees inside and outside Palestine.

Resheq also warned that Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque are exposed to a fierce Judaization campaign targeting their Arab and Islamic identity.

“The Arab and Muslim nations and the world’s free people should assume their historic responsibilities and protect Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque against the danger of the Zionist occupation,” the Hamas official stated.