Jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti has called for national and international support to Gaza in the face of Israel’s ongoing military assault on the embattled enclave.
Barghouti, a longtime resistance leader, was arrested by the Israeli Defence Forces in 2002 and is currently detained in Israel’s Hadarim Prison.
In a statement delivered to the media by his lawyer, the activist outlined a number of conditions necessary for the current resistance to Israel's military assault on Gaza.
"Palestinians must insist on ending the siege of the Gaza Strip," stated Barghouti.
"Resistance as an option is and will remain to be a sufficient method for retaining freedom and independence," he added.
Israel has pounded the enclave with aerial bombardments starting 8 July, since supplemented by ground operations, leaving over 1,200 people dead and more than 7,000 injured.
Barghouti called on neighbouring Arab states as well as foreign nations to establish a FUND for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. He also called on Palestinians to strengthen and support the national unity government formed in June, and to reexamine the Palestinian Authority's role in the resistance movement to avoid past failures and ensure collective political participation.
The Israeli military offered a four-hour humanitarian ceasefire in some areas of the Gaza Strip in an army statement on Wednesday, reported Reuters.
"IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has authorizsd a temporary window in the Gaza Strip. The window will commence today between 15:00-19:00 (1200-1600 GMT).
"The humanitarian window will not APPLY to the areas in which IDF soldiers are currently operating," the statement said.
"The IDF will respond to any attempt to exploit this window to harm Israeli citizens and Israeli soldiers,” added the statement.
Egypt said on Tuesday it was revising an unconditional truce proposal that Israel had originally accepted but Hamas rejected, and that the new offer would be presented to a Palestinian delegation expected in Cairo soon.
