CAIRO, July 29 (RIA Novosti) – The Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza is grateful to Qatar and Turkey for their offer of extensive political, economic and diplomatic support to Paletinians, a senior Hamas official told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
“Doha and Ahkara have sided with the Palestinian people to help them. We are grateful for the support they extended to the people of Palestine in political, diplomatic and economic spheres,” Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, in a comment on Egypt’s recent spat with Turkey and Qatar over Gaza.
He admitted however that the row that originated from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent criticism of Cairo’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had affected Hamas.
Marzouk said he believed “the Palestinian problem must prevail over rows between separate countries.”
“No doubt that disputes between the nations have affected us. We call for these countries to help Palestinians instead of argue over the Palestinian problem,” he stressed.
The Hamas official confirmed that both Qatar and Turkey had invested into the Gaza Strip, with Doha also funding major construction projects to rebuild Gaza.
“But certain countries don’t want to see this aid got to Palestinian people to prevent [Qatar and Turkey] from having a stance on Palestine. It’s wrong. On the contrary, they must be glad about it,” Marzouk continued.
He also said Hamas was hoping for the Lebanon-based Hezbollah to join in the fight against Israeli invaders.
“We hope the Lebanese front will open and together we will fight against this formation [Israel]. There’s no arguing that Lebanese resistance could mean a lot,” Mousa Abu Marzouk confessed.
The north of Israel has been suffering from rocket attacks from Lebanon for the past few years. Minor Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for them. The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah is one of the most powerful opponents of the Jewish state, but since the end of the war between the countries in 2006, a ceasefire has been maintained.
