John Kirby, Strategic Policy Coordinator at the US National Security Council (French)
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Wednesday its condemnation and rejection of statements made by the Strategic Policy Coordinator at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, in which he said that the future of the Gaza Strip after the war cannot include the movement.
The movement's statement said, "We consider this statement and other similar positions of President Biden's administration to be blatant interference in the affairs of our Palestinian people and a continuation of the patronage approach through which it seeks to maintain its control over the decisions and choices of the peoples."
The statement stressed that the Hamas movement is “an authentic component of our Palestinian people steadfast in the face of occupation and Nazism supported by the American administration, and we will not allow it or anyone else to impose guardianship over our free people who have the highest say in choosing their leadership and determining their fate.”
Kirby said yesterday, Tuesday, while talking about a visit to Egypt by the US special envoy to the Middle East, Brett McGurk, that the American envoy is in Cairo to hold serious discussions regarding the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and reaching a humanitarian truce.
He pointed out that McGurk will also discuss other issues, including obtaining an assessment of Israeli military operations and Israel's efforts to protect civilians.
“Whatever post-war Gaza looks like cannot include Hamas leaders,” Kirby said.
The movement and other Palestinian factions have repeatedly stressed that the future of Gaza after the devastating war waged by Israel is decided by the Palestinians.
In the latest statistics on the victims of the ongoing Israeli aggression, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced today, Wednesday, that the number of martyrs has risen to 25,500 and those injured to 63,740 since last October 7.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies