In a letter to the President of the United Nations General Assembly and the Member States, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) called on the United States to work to thwart a draft resolution distributed by the US Mission to the United Nations condemning the Palestinian Resistance and Hamas for the first time.

"It is following with great anger the continuous and miserable efforts of Washington not only to adopt the viewpoint of the Israeli occupation but also to provide the material and moral support necessary for the occupation to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people and deprive them of their basic rights," Hamas said in a statement.

The draft resolution "coincided with the submission by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People of four resolutions for consideration by the General Assembly, including the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent State with East Jerusalem as its capital".

The movement urged members of the United Nations to "thwart American aggressive efforts, stand by international legitimacy and UN resolutions, and the legitimate right of peoples to defend themselves and resist occupation in all possible ways."

Haniyeh intensifies contacts with officials to prevent US efforts from succeeding (Reuters)

Haniyeh
For his part, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, launched a campaign of contacts with a number of leaders and foreign ministers of countries in the region and the world to abort American efforts to pass a draft resolution condemning the movement through the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Haniyeh's office said in a statement that he had telephoned Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and listened to his efforts with the Arab and Islamic Group to counter the resolution.

He also called on the officials of the Palestinian file in the Egyptian General Intelligence to listen to the role played by Egypt and its foreign ministry in addressing the US draft resolution, praising these efforts and urging more action at international levels to stop the US draft resolution at the United Nations.

Haniyeh telephoned the Qatari foreign minister and reviewed the seriousness of the decision on Palestinian national rights.

He also sent letters to a number of world and regional leaders and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in which he stressed the need to work hard to thwart American efforts to condemn the Palestinian resistance, defend the legitimate rights enshrined in international law and reject and condemn the US draft resolution.