HAMAS was defiant in its response yesterday to the threats by US president Donald Trump that he would cancel the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and ‘let hell break out’ if all Israeli captives held by the resistance force are not released by midday Saturday.
Speaking on Monday, Trump stated: ‘As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out.’
Trump’s latest outburst came as Hamas said it would delay the release of more Israeli captives planned for Saturday ‘until further notice’ due to the Israeli regime’s violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas announced that captives will ‘remain in place until the occupying entity complies with past obligations and compensates retroactively’.
Outlining the reason for this delay Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, said: ‘Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership monitored the enemy’s violations and their non-compliance with the terms of the agreement.’
These violations include ‘delaying the return of displaced persons to northern Gaza, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Gaza Strip, and failing to allow the entry of relief materials in all forms agreed upon.’
Obeida added: ‘Meanwhile, the resistance has fulfilled all its obligations’ under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Responding to Trump’s threat of unleashing hell on Gaza, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said: ‘Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the prisoners. The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters.’
Hamas pointed out that they had appealed to the ceasefire mediators a week ago to oblige the Israelis to honour what was agreed upon in the first phase of the agreement.
Nothing was done to force the Israelis to obey the agreement, not a word of criticism from the US or its allies on the blatant disregard of the Zionist regime to its terms and conditions, instead, Trump is now issuing threats of unleashing hell once again on Gaza.
The Zionist regime of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been doing its best to undermine and break the terms of the agreement while simultaneously ramping up attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The temporary ceasefire agreement, while fragile, represented a massive defeat for the Zionists and US imperialism.
15 months of genocidal onslaught on the Gaza Strip claiming up to 60,000 Palestinian lives, according to latest estimates, has completely failed to achieve the stated objectives of destroying Hamas, returning Israeli captives and driving Palestinians out of their land.
Faced with this defeat, and along with it the destruction of the myth of American supremacy, US imperialism is lashing out against the Palestinians and the entire world.
Trump this week has threatened to unleash hell on Gaza while at the same time threatening to wreak economic hell on America’s former allies in Europe through a trade war to smash their economies.
The working class alone has the power to put an end to a capitalist system that in its imperialist death agony has only one way out.
That is to inflict wars against the masses of the world in an attempt to reassert its domination, while waging a war at home to force the working class to pay the cost of the economic crisis of the ruling class.
For the working class, the only way to resolve this crisis is to take mass action by demanding the trade union leaders call general strikes to bring down their capitalist governments and bring in workers’ governments and socialism.
Leaders who refuse to take action must be removed and replaced with a new leadership prepared to go forward from general strike to the working class taking power.
Build up the WRP and Young Socialists in the UK and build sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to lead the world socialist revolution to victory.