The Palestinian Hamas movement declared on Monday that it has reached an ‘understanding’ to contain the Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip. The agreement seems to have been the outcome of intense Qatari diplomacy in recent days.
Israel has bombed besieged Gaza on a nightly basis for over two weeks, shutting down Gaza’s access to the sea and sealing off the Karem Abu Salem Crossing, which provided the 2 million population of Gaza with urgent supplies.
Israel has justified its bombardment as a response to the releasing of incendiary balloons by Gaza protesters, which, according to Israeli sources, have ignited several fires in agricultural land.
Several Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli attacks, including children.
#UN: #Israel Must Immediately Allow Entry of #Fuel, Other Essential Items into #Gaza https://t.co/i4eaM6wmZX via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/0Onah8nLlO
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) August 31, 2020
Palestine Chronicle correspondent in Gaza Wafaa Aludaini summarized the main points of the Hamas-Israel ‘understanding’ as follow:
- The Israeli army will cease its bombardment of Gaza and Palestinian protesters will halt the launch of incendiary balloons towards Israel;
- Israel will allow the establishment of several economic projects in Gaza, which will directly contribute to the alleviation of economic hardship in the besieged Strip;
- Israel will allow fuel supplies to reach Gaza in order to operate the Strip’s only power plant;
- The fishing zone will be reopened again;
- Urgently needed medical equipment and supplies will be allowed to reach Gaza as part of its efforts to confront the spread of COVID-19 disease.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
