Palestine not under Hamas captivity – Envoy

The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdallah Abu Shawesh, on Wednesday, described as a lie, the claim by the Israeli government that it was trying to free the Palestinians from Hamas.

Shawesh explained that the Israeli government was using that to justify its occupation of the country.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, Shawesh said the Palestinians had never solicited Israel’s help to free them from Hamas.

He said, “We are not under the captivity of Hamas, it’s Israel’s excuse to justify their occupation. Is it that to free me, you will kill me? If that is a way to help the Palestinians, we can’t accept it.”

Shawesh pointed out that Hamas was created 20 years after Israel’s occupation.

The envoy said the relentless bombardments of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli forces have deprived the entire population of all their basic survival needs.

He said: “It’s a very dangerous stage, where we have become used to counting the numbers of the slaughtered people, home destructions, injuries, and so on, without any emotional feeling towards the victims.”Giving an update on the casualty figures, the envoy said, “The death toll among the Palestinians in Gaza exceeded 10500, 4800 are children and 2550 are women, while the injured are 24808. 2660 still missing under the rubble, and 1,270 are children.

“48 press correspondents were killed in Gaza strip, 163 Palestinians killed in West Bank.”