Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal made a statement on Thursday from Qatar, declaring that Hamas will continue its war of terror against Israel despite the end of the recent conflict. “This is not the end,” he said. “This is just a milestone to reaching our objective…we will not restrict our dreams or make compromises to our demands.” He added that the conflict in which terrorists launched nearly 4,000 rockets and mortars into Israel was “forced upon us” but brought Palestinians closer to “Jerusalem, the Aqsa Mosque and our holy sites.” He concluded by declaring that “reconstructing Gaza is the duty of the national consensus government and of the free world,” and that Hamas had “triumphed in Gaza” and “every Palestinian in Gaza and every Palestinian in the world are partners in this victory.” However, many Arab leaders, including Palestinian Authority officials, said Hamas should admit defeat and work towards improving the lives of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents. Read More
