Hailing the "victory" of Gazan terrorists in the latest round of hostilities with Israel, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh predicted over the weekend that the latest flare-up would likely have a wider impact both on the Jewish state's relationship with its regional neighbors as well as Jewish-Arab relations within Israel.
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"This battle defeated the illusions of negotiations, defeated the deal of the century, defeated the culture of defeat, defeated the projects of despair, defeated the settlement projects, defeated the projects of coexistence with the Zionist occupation, defeated the projects of normalizing [relations] with the Zionist occupation, and therefore resistance is the best strategic choice for liberation and return," Haniyeh said, refering to the groundbreaking normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, known collectively as the "Abraham Accords."
"What will come to pass after this battle is not what came before it…you will yet see many [diplomatic] contacts and successes," Haniyeh added. "We have seen how our nation awake to stand behind Jerusalem, Palestine and resistance."
Soon after the conflict began, Haniyeh declared that the Palestinians have "set a new balance of power" vis-à-vis Israel following massive terrorist rocket fire on southern and central Israel.
"We have achieved victory in the battle for Jerusalem, the defense of Jerusalem," Haniyeh said on May 12, observing that "Jerusalem is the axis of conflict."
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Operation Guardian of the Walls, which erupted on May 10, saw Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fire over 4,300 rockets and mortar shells at southern and central Israel, claiming the lives of 13 Israelis – one soldier and 12 civilians – and leaving some 700 wounded.
During the 11-day conflict, the IDF destroyed more than 6,500 terrorist targets, including Hamas and PIJ operational headquarters, weapon production sites and arsenals, and over 100 kilometers (62 miles) of Hamas' infamous gird of terror tunnels. At least 225 terrorists were killed in the strikes, including top Hamas and PIJ commanders.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
