Interview: Hamas official rules out Israeli war on Gaza if Syria stricken

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Interview: Hamas official rules out Israeli war on Gaza if Syria stricken

(Xinhua) 09:16, September 02, 2013

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GAZA, Sept. 1 -- A senior official in the Hamas government, which rules the Gaza Strip, ruled out Israel would wage a war on the Palestinian coastal enclave in response to militant rocket attacks during a U.S. strike on Syria.

"The Palestinian factions are wise and smart enough to understand the situation in the region," Zeyad Zaza, deputy prime minister of the Hamas government told Xinhua in an interview, adding "there is sufficient coordination between the government and the factions."

Zaza reiterated that all the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and their armed wings abide by the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire reached with Israel in November, 2012 as long as the Israeli side is committed to it, adding "however, we hold daily contacts to prepare for any expected Israeli assault on Gaza."

The Hamas movement, which violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, holds daily contact with various factions and minor militant groups in order to avoid involvement in possible wars in the region, according to well-informed sources.

Zaza noted that the Hamas government has taken all needed precautions against an Israeli war on the Gaza Strip coincident with a U.S. strike on Syria, where a chemical attack allegedly took place on Aug. 21.

"These precautions include a wide security plan and a redeployment of our police and security forces," said Zaza, adding that "the United States wants to strike Syria only to serve its own interests."

Hamas had earlier said it opposes any foreign intervention in Syria and warned that such an action "would badly influence the entire Middle East region and ... serve the interests of Israel."

Meanwhile, Zaza stressed that his government is not facing any crisis induced by "internal development," in reference to a Gaza- based youth group that recently calling themselves "rebel against injustice in Gaza" on Facebook.

"This group ... doesn't have actual presence on the ground in Gaza. Its members and leaders are young Palestinians from the West Bank and Egypt," Zaza said, adding "I don't think that they have any practical influence on the ground in Gaza."

The group that calls itself Tamarod, or Rebel, is similar to the one that led Egypt's June 30 demonstrations. The popular protests ousted Egypt's Islamic President Mohamed Morsi just one year after he was elected.

In Gaza, the group is calling on the Palestinians to take to the streets on Nov. 11 in protest against Hamas.

Speaking of Egypt's ongoing crackdown on the tunnels on the border, Zaza asserted that the campaign has been affecting the lives of the Gaza population, since the enclave, under an Israeli blockade, relies heavily on these tunnels for imported or smuggled goods.

Asked about media reports that Hamas faces a financial crisis, Zaza stressed "our financial aid is vibrating because we don't receive aid from governments and countries but from friends in the Arab and Islamic worlds."