Islamic Jihad Chief: Resistance Groups at Same Front to Defend Palestine against “Israeli” Aggression

By Staff, Agencies

The leader of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad movement says Palestinian resistance groups are all at the same front to defend the Palestinian cause and nation against the apartheid “Israeli” regime and its vicious acts of aggression.

Ziyad al-Nakhalah made the remarks on Thursday evening as he addressed the Palestinian national unity ceremony in Gaza City.

“The spirited resistance offered by Palestinians in the face of the latest round of ‘Israeli’ military onslaught on the Gaza Strip confirmed that there is no difference of opinion among those living either in the occupied West Bank, the besieged Gaza Strip or abroad. It was an obvious manifestation of the fact that Palestinians are all united against a common enemy and share the same destiny,” he said.

Nakhalah added, “We must not allow the Zionist enemy to sow the seeds of division among us. We would have been torn apart by internal strife if we had not exercised great vigilance and watchfulness.”

“We should not leave any opportunity for others to threaten our unity… We must be aware of seditious plots,” Nakhalah said, emphasizing that the Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other Palestinian resistance movements are all fighting under the banner of defending the Palestinian cause.

“Palestinian resistance forces, irrespective of their names and political affiliations, are all united in the face of the ‘Israeli’ enemy,” he pointed out.

“The Joint Operations Room is a national need that must be further strengthened,” Nakhalah went on to say.

The Islamic Jihad chief also condemned constant “Israeli” military raids and desecration of the sacred al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds [Jerusalem], and demanded an immediate end to such practices.

Nakhalah also expressed solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle against the Tel Aviv regime. This comes as the National Palestinian Prisoners' Movement announced earlier this week that prisoners in “Israeli” jails will embark on an open-ended hunger strike as of September 1.

He slammed the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority over its crackdown and restrictive measures against resistance fighters, and called for cessation of this approach.

Nakhalah expressed his gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Syria, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, headed by His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, for their support for Palestinian resistance fighters against the “Israeli” aggression.

The Islamic Jihad leader also thanked pro-Palestinian media outlets and satellite television channels for exposing “Israeli” crimes during the three-day air attacks on Gaza.

The apartheid “Israeli” regime carried out new massacre in the besieged Gaza Strip on August 5, which martyred 49 Palestinians, including 17 children and Taysir al-Jabari, a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad movement, during the three-day assault.

The “Israeli” airstrikes prompted the al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, to respond by firing hundreds of rockets toward the occupied territories, pushing the regime forces on the back foot.

The strong retaliation, as was pledged by the resistance group, forced Tel Aviv to accept an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire, which took effect late on August 7.