Rally calls for end to Israeli aggression

By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter

Qatar has been in the forefront of the supporters of the people of Palestine and HH the Emir of Qatar has extended his full support to the people of the Gaza Strip, said  the Palestinian Ambassador  Munir Ghanim in Doha yesterday.

He was addressing the people who had gathered at the embassy to show their solidarity with the people of Gaza and the Palestinian resistance against Israeli aggression. 

Members of the Palestinian community, alongside a good number of other expatriates, took part in the event. Some young Qatari men also participated.

Ghanim thanked all the participants and supporters and lovers of peace. He said the Palestinians were victims of occupation and Gaza, in particular, was now subjected to massive use of force, which could not subdue their will and desire for a free and dignified life in their own land.

He further affirmed that resistance in all its forms will go on and it is gaining regional and international support.

“The Israeli enemy is losing its ground and have no support. Even their friends have abandoned them on this particular issue. We have the recognition of 138 countries at the UN declaring Palestine as a state. In the meantime, Israel is challenging all international laws and humanitarian standards with its actions,” he said.

He called upon all peace lovers in the world to hurry to free the last occupied country in the world from the grip of Israel.

Hussam Badran, a Hamas representative, said that Hamas wanted  peace and its conditions were simple - like end of the occupation, freeing of prisoners and halting aggression. He said that this was the popular demand of the Palestinian people as well.

“Regarding the Egyptian initiative, we heard about it from the media only, we have not received anything official about it until now. However, the Palestinian people push Hamas to continue resistance until its demands and aspirations were fully met. As for the UN, it has a single perspective of the issue, we ask all disinterested observers to go to Gaza and see the situation and then judge it. I have daily communication with Hamas at home and until now around 192 people have been killed, 60% of them women and children and the rest  helpless civilians.”

Abdel Jawad Mousa Adwan, counsellor at the embassy, said the issue was simple and peace could be easily reached in a record time but Israel was not willing and they were stirring up trouble to avoid the choice of peaceful settlement, which gives Palestinians the right to have their independent state living side by side with them.

“It is a humanitarian duty to take part in such an event and I am happy that my country has given  due support to this cause and I hope that other countries would follow,” said Tariq al-Hammadi, a Qatari student who took part along with his friend Abdulla al-Darwish.