One day after rockets were fired at the southern Israeli city of Sderot from the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Israel no longer controlled the equation of deterrence and that Hamas would be the one to determine the outcome of the next campaign.
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"Just as we defeated the flag march [in Jerusalem], so too will we defeat the policy of breaking into Al-Aqsa [Mosque], and we are still at the outset of the campaign. If the occupation thinks invading Al-Aqsa will change the Islamic character of the mosque, they are wrong," Haniyeh said.
Another senior Hamas official said the Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip Wednesday night would not impact the will and determination of the Palestinian people. He emphasized the "resistance" would continue to defend Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, and the Islamic holy sites.
He went on to say that there would be no return to the equations of deterrence imposed by the Israel Defense Forces' Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gaza in May.
"The resistance forced Israel to change the framework of the radical settlers' march and prevent sacrifices from being made inside Al-Aqsa," he said.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said: "This campaign has one end and it is the victory of our people and the achievement of its goals of liberation and [the Palestinian 'right' of] return."
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