Washington must force Netanyahu to stop war, says Hamas

By Abdul Salam Fayez

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Palestinian group Hamas on Friday urged the US to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war on Gaza, accusing him of repeatedly obstructing the negotiations.

In response to US Vice President Kamala Harris' comments on Washington's commitment to addressing Gaza's suffering, Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas political bureau, denounced the US claims as a “renewed falsehood.”

In a statement, Rishq argued that if Washington genuinely wanted to end the war, it would “withdraw its military, security, political, and intelligence support from Israeli forces.”

“Harris is launching her election campaign with falsehoods, ignoring the human rights she professes to uphold and the right to resist occupation as supported by international law,” said Rishq, noting that “her distorted perspective favors the Zionist entity (Israel) and undermines the rights of our Palestinian people."

Rishq called on "the American administration to stop the war of extermination,” noting that “Netanyahu is the one who repeatedly disrupted negotiations.”

“He must be pressured and forced to end the brutal war against our defenseless people,” he added.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi