President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, today at the Presidential Palace.
The President stressed that the great sacrifices made by the Palestinian people and their steadfastness during the Israeli aggressions on Gaza and several Palestinian areas “Must bear fruit and the right should return to its owners”. President Aoun also considered that the Palestinian people have proven their unity in the struggle and solidarity between the West Bank and Gaza, and this is an important element in the equation of power and confrontation.
Moreover, the President congratulated the Palestinian people and their leaders for their permanent steadfastness in facing aggressive Israeli practices, offering his condolences to the martyrs who fell during the recent attack on Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah and Jerusalem. President Aoun called on the international community to take action in confronting the principle of force, displacement and theft of rights, recalling what he announced more than once that there is no peace without justice and no justice without the respect for rights.
In addition, President Aoun wished to speed up the reconstruction of Gaza after the destruction caused by Israeli air attacks, and to provide Arab and international support for this process.
For his part, Dr. Haniyeh thanked the President for the stances he took in support of the Palestinian people and their just cause, and for his strong condemnation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque and the losses in lives, properties and neighborhoods which were caused. Haniyeh noted the unity of the Palestinian people in the face of recent events, and stressed that the Palestinian cause has returned to attract international attention.
Statement:
After the meeting, Dr. Haniyeh made the following statement:
“We had the honor to meet His Excellency, the President of the Republic. We discussed political and field developments which the Palestinian cause is witnessing, especially after the battel of Jerusalem, and the strategic results of this battle, on top of which that Jerusalem remains the focus of the conflict with the occupation and that the resistance is the strategic choice for liberation. Palestinian unity is the cornerstone for the achievement of this liberation.
We also expressed our heartfelt thanks to His Excellency and to Lebanon in all political components, for the support for Palestinian rights, including the positions of His Excellency during the battle. We also affirmed our political constants related to our adherence to the right of return and rejection of settlements and an alternative homeland, and that the Palestinian people reside in Lebanon as guests until they return to their homeland and homes which they were displaced from.
We certainly wished to grant more social and human rights to our Palestinian brothers in Lebanon with whom we share hopes and pain. We wish security and stability to Lebanon, and that the Palestinian people and camps will be an element of stability and security for this country, people, government and Presidency. We heard an affirmation of the firm Lebanese position in support of Palestinian rights, from His Excellency, as well as his feelings of what Gaza was subjected to during the previous battle.
His Excellency is also proud of the steadfastness and resistance shown by the Palestinian people, and wishes his Palestinian brothers to achieve their aspirations by establishing an independent state with full sovereignty, with Jerusalem as its capital, in addition to the right of refugees to return to their homes”.
Questions & Answers:
Question: Does this visit bear the dimensions of military cooperation with Hezbollah?
Answer: “We run the resistance as a Palestinian national liberation movement on the land of Palestine. We also face the Zionist occupation on the land of Palestine.
We do not decide for any party in Lebanon or outside how to deal with the Israeli occupation. Lebanon is a sovereign country and has an independent decision-maker. It is Lebanon which decides how to deal with the Israeli occupation and support Palestinian brothers. We are certainly not in that context on this visit”.
Question: We have noticed in recent days a return to Israeli provocations in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Is there a plan not to displace Jerusalemites from this neighborhood?
Answer: “We are committed to Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah and all the suburbs of occupied Jerusalem. We reject all Israeli measures and policies, including attempts to displace our people from Sheikh Jarrah.
During the blessed month of Ramadan, we confronted this policy, and we are also ready to defend our people and drop any step that would prejudice the right of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, and others”.
The delegation accompanying Dr. Haniyeh included: Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Saleh Al-Arouri, members of office: Khalil Al-Hayya, Izzat Al-Rishq, and Osama Hamdan, and the representative of Hamas in Lebanon, Mr. Ahmed Abdel Hadi.—Presidency Press Office
Source: National News Agency