Hamas Not Seeking Palestinian State İn Gaza: Haniyeh

Hamas deputy leader Ismail Haniyeh has dismissed claims that his Palestinian group sought to establish a state in the Gaza Strip.



"Hamas is not seeking to set up a state in Gaza," Haniyeh told a seminar marking Palestinian "Land Day."



"Hamas seeks to liberate all Palestine from [Israeli] occupation," he added.



On Saturday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned of attempts to establish a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip by striking a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel.



Haniyeh said that the Palestinian people insisted on regaining all of their land.



"Hamas is working to end the siege on the Gaza Strip and rebuild what has been destroyed by the recent Israeli war," he added.



Earlier this month, Haniyeh said that his movement did not mind hammering out a five-year truce with Israel.



Haniyeh said Hamas did not mind this truce, provided it did not give Israel the chance to control the West Bank, which is already occupied by the self-proclaimed Jewish state.



The Gaza Strip continues to reel under an eight-year Israeli blockade, which has badly affected the livelihoods of most Gazans.



Israel waged a 51-day military onslaught on the blockaded strip last summer, which killed more than 2,160 Palestinians and injured nearly 11,000.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gazze