Hamas Rejects Labeling Hezbollah As Terrorist Organization

Spanish Prime Minister receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the presence of King Felipe VI and Queen Leticia in Madrid on Monday (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the presence of King Felipe VI and Queen Leticia in Madrid on Monday (EPA)
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Hamas Rejects Labeling Hezbollah As Terrorist Organization

Spanish Prime Minister receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the presence of King Felipe VI and Queen Leticia in Madrid on Monday (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the presence of King Felipe VI and Queen Leticia in Madrid on Monday (EPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid, Reuters reported on Monday.

The two leaders are expected to discuss current international issues and the Palestinian National Reconciliation Agreement, which was signed in October in Cairo.

Talks will also include development programs financed by Spain.

Meanwhile, a member of Hamas political bureau sparked controversy after announcing that the meeting of the Palestinian factions in Cairo would discuss the rejection to classify the Lebanese Hezbollah group as a terrorist organization.

“The first point on the agenda of the Palestinian dialogue conference is that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, said through his Twitter account.

Abu Marzouk was referring to the classification of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, during the Arab foreign ministers meeting held on Sunday.

A statement issued at the end of the meeting accused the party, which is a partner in the Lebanese government, of providing terrorist groups in Arab countries with sophisticated weapons and ballistic missiles. It also condemned the establishment of terrorist groups in Bahrain, which are trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah.

Fatah Movement did not respond to Abu Marzouk’s remarks, but a source in the movement told Asharq al-Awsat that the issue was not on the discussion table. “Dialogue would assess the previous stage of reconciliation and discuss the possibility of forming a national unity government and holding elections,” the sources said.

The Islamic Jihad movement, which is close to Iran, joined Hamas in rejecting the classification of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

In a statement, the movement criticized the final communiqué of the Cairo foreign ministers’ meeting, which it said failed to condemn or mention the continued Zionist aggression against Palestine.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.