Hamas Representative Says Ceasefire Mediation in Gaza Strip Failing Because of Israel

CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2021) International attempts to mediate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are failing because of the position of the Israeli authorities, Fawzi Barhum, a spokesman for Palestine's Hamas movement, told Sputnik on Saturday.

According to Barhum, Egypt, Qatar and representatives of the United Nations are currently engaged in efforts to broker a truce.

"Hamas had intensive contacts with these parties, helping them in every possible way, telling them that the Israeli enemy, who launched the aggression, is responsible for this aggression ... however, all these efforts still stumble upon racist Israeli thinking," he said.

The spokesman noted that Hamas does not have direct contact with the United States and added that Russia is also making efforts alongside other parties to stop the aggression, "but all of them have not yet led to success in establishing a truce.

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"We informed all the mediators that the Israeli occupier started the aggression and that it must stop the arbitrary actions against our people in Jerusalem and Sheikh Jarrah, put an end to the settlers' incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, put an end to all forms of aggression against Gaza," Barhum stressed.

The Gaza Strip conflict escalated on May 10 after several days of clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli police in East Jerusalem over an eviction order. Since then, the Israeli side reported over 2,000 rocket launches fired toward Israel from Gaza, resulting in the deaths of seven civilians and one military personnel. In the return shelling of HAMAS targets in the enclave, 126 Palestinians were killed and 950 others were injured.