Resistance key to a Palestinian state

Democratically elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says an independent Palestinian state is only viable by means of resistance.

Haniyeh said on Tuesday that a Palestinian state will remain nonexistent as long as hopes are pinned on the United States and other Western countries, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

He further emphasized that the Palestinian cause will only bear fruit through perseverance, sacrifice and support from Islamic countries.

Haniyeh made the remarks at a ceremony, commemorating the first anniversary of Israel’s attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

Lots of Turkish activists were killed and many others wounded on May 31 last year, after Israeli commandos attacked the aid convoy in international waters.

International activists are now preparing to set sail on a second freedom flotilla for the Gaza Strip in late June, challenging Israel’s almost four-year-long blockade of the impoverished Palestinian enclave.

The convoy consists of 15 ships with some 1,500 activists from about 40 countries onboard.

The vessels will carry humanitarian aid, medical equipment, school supplies and construction materials.

Israeli military officials have so far confirmed that preparations are under way to stop any new flotilla.

In what is widely viewed as an unprecedented measure, the United Nations last week appealed to Mediterranean countries to block the voyage of the international humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon claimed that the unarmed mercy ships “carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict.”

On Tuesday, Haniyeh said that he was “surprised” to hear Ban Ki-moon’s statement urging organizers to cancel the aid flotilla.

The Palestinian premier then urged Ban to backtrack on his call and support the Palestinian cause, and not to “ignore the Israeli massacre of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”