Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established

NIB@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 576 points – Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established
apnews.com

A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.

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The Israeli imposed closure on Gaza began in 1991, temporarily, becoming permanent in 1993. The barrier began around Gaza around 1972. After the 'disengagement' in 2007, this turned into a full blockade; where Israel has had control over the airspace, borders, and sea. Under the guise of 'dual-use' Israel has restricted food, allocating a minimum supply leading to over half of Gaza being food insecure; construction materials, medical supplies, and other basic necessities have also been restricted. This has been a deliberate tactic of De-development.

Gaza Policy Forum summary: Experts agree that Israel’s dual-use policy causes acute distress

Through 1993 Israel imposed a one-way system of tariffs and duties on the importation of goods through its borders; leaving Israel for Gaza, however, no tariffs or other regulations applied. Thus, for Israeli exports to Gaza, the Strip was treated as part of Israel; but for Gazan exports to Israel, the Strip was treated as a foreign entity subject to various “non-tariff barriers.” This placed Israel at a distinct advantage for trading and limited Gaza’s access to Israeli and foreign markets. Gazans had no recourse against such policies, being totally unable to protect themselves with tariffs or exchange rate controls. Thus, they had to pay more for highly protected Israeli products than they would if they had some control over their own economy. Such policies deprived the occupied territories of significant customs revenue, estimated at $118-$176 million in 1986. (Arguably, the economic terms of the Gaza—Jericho Agreement modify the situation only slightly.)

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In a report released in May 2015, the World Bank revealed that as a result of Israel’s blockade and OPE, Gaza’s manufacturing sector shrank by as much as 60 percent over eight years while real per capita income is 31 percent lower than it was 20 years ago. The report also stated that the blockade alone is responsible for a 50 percent decrease in Gaza’s GDP since 2007. Furthermore, OPE (com- bined with the tunnel closure) exacerbated an already grave situation by reducing Gaza’s economy by an additional $460 million.

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The Gaza Strip: The Political Economy of De-Development - Third Edition by Sara M. Roy

What specifically in this wall of text is a direct response to what I said?

All you said was complete stupidity. 19 years of rule under Hamas only produced terrorist tunnels?

All of that is a direct response to 30+ years of Israeli genocide.

Building tunnels as the sole piece of infrastructure for your people is the sole response to a 30 year genocide?

I don't think that is true, and I don't believe you think that is true either. It sounded good when you said it though, and I'm sure it felt even better.

the only thing they built for the Palestinian people has been tunnels to commit terrorism from.

I wasn't the one who said that tunnels were the only thing they have done, that was literally you. But it's also irrelevant because I wouldn't expect any infrastructure works to be prioritised when a small country is under attack.

When the IRA demanded their land back, we were allowed to agree with their cause of no occupation without saying that their tactics of bombing trains was a good thing.

When the LTTE violently attacked Sri Lanka, people were allowed to feel for the ongoing Tamil persecution, without agreeing to the murdering.

Why can't I say that Hamas is a product of its environment, caused by the pain that Israel creates while also saying that the actions of Hamas are terrible.

The money never made its way to the Palestinian people, is the point.

Where did it go?