Palestinian official warns authority of measures against Gaza

First Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmed Bahr expressed his confidence that the current attempts aiming to tighten blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip will not achieve their objectives thanks to the strong will of the Palestinian people. He stressed that the Palestinian resistance will continue until liberating the Palestinian territories from the Israeli occupation.
He added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, that the recent measures taken by the Palestinian authority towards the Gaza Strip are not new, saying that they started these measures since Hamas’ winning of the legislative elections in 2006. He called the Islamic nation to support the strip during the current critical period.
He warned the Palestinian authority of its current attempts to abandon its own responsibilities towards the strip and its people, saying that the Islamic nations should take serious measures to support the Palestinian living in Gaza for overcoming the challenges facing them.
He called the League of Arab States to perform its role to ease the crises facing the strip, calling the Egyptian authorities to open Rafah Crossing and to perform its role to ease the blockade imposed against the strip by the Israeli occupation.
In the same context, Bahr stressed that the decree issued by the President of the Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on the exemption of citizens in the Gaza Strip from taxes is illegal and worthless. Bahr stressed that the decree was issued by a person who has no status and has ended his legal and constitutional mandate for many years.
He added that the decree comes as part of series of non-national measures taken by "Abbas" against Gaza with the aim of knocking it and tightening its people. He stressed the readiness of Hamas to achieve political partnership and to implement the terms of reconciliation, considering that Fatah movement and President Mahmoud Abbas are not ready for taking such steps.
He added that that Hamas would not accept that Gaza be an independent entity from our Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. "We will not accept the division of our cities and villages into autonomous areas run by the occupation," he said.