Hamas: We've Always Been In Favor Of A Ceasefire
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Saturday called on West Bank residents to rise up against Israel in a renewed 'intifada' in response to its offensive on the Gaza Strip that left over 225 people dead and hundreds wounded... While the Hamas leader maintained that his organization was interested in renewing the cease-fire with Israel, he said that this would only be possible on the condition that Israel lift its siege on Gaza and open all crossings in and out of the Strip.
That of course is the exact opposite of true but it's part and parcel of Hanan Ashrawi's unblinking comments on CNN:
Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi also accused Israel of ignoring the terms of the cease-fire that expired December 19. "This is certainly a very cruel escalation, a relentless bombardment of a captive civilian population that has already been under siege for months, that has been deprived of basic requirements like food and medicines and fuel and power," she said from Ramallah in the West Bank.
Actually they haven't been deprived of food or medicine or fuel and power. But I guess if Hamas has only been targeting "military" installations then it's reasonable to pretend that this is an unprovoked Israeli attack which comes after month of besieging Gaza.
References:
* Mashaal: We still want cease-fire [JPost]
* Israel vows to keep up Gaza attacks through the night [CNN]
* Hamas: No, Of Course We're Not Renewing The Ceasefire That We Never Obeyed In The First Place [MR]
* Breathless HuffPo Headline About Gazans Eating Grass Contradicted By Rest Of Headline, Linked Picture, Reality (Plus: Anti-Semitic Comments Ensue Anyway) [MR]
* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie [MR]
* Hamas Creates Humanitarian Crisis By Stealing Fuel For Terrorism, Preventing Israeli Gas Shipments, And Cutting Off Gaza Civilians. Again. (Plus: International Press, Human Rights Groups Blame Israel. Again) [MR]
* Hamas continues to claim it only targets military [Elder]
Previously:
* Obligatory Post About WaPo's "Israel Should Lift Its Gaza Blockade" Editorial
* Hamas Seems Pretty Serious About The Whole "Divine Victory Over The Jews" Thing (Plus: Jimmy Carter's Pro-Hamas Propaganda Seems Rather Untenable)
* Hamas Heavily Armed, Skeptical About Israeli Commitment To Self-Defense
