Dubai: Hamas calls on the upcoming Emergency Arab summit in Qatar next Friday and Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas to unite in support of the unarmed Palestinians in Gaza strip, who have been subjected to bombings and shellings by Israeli warplanes, deputy head of Hamas politburo said.
Speaking to Gulf News, Mousa Abu-Marzouk also criticised the security council statement issued early yesterday which called on both Israel and the Palestinians to immediately halt all violence and military activities, because "it treats both the victim and the aggressor on equal terms."
"Until now, we have not been invited (to attend the emergency Arab summit in Doha.)
"But should we receive the invitation, we are going to attend to explain all issues from all aspects, God willing," he said.
After a series of intensive phone consultations on Saturday, it was announced that an emergency Arab Summit will take place in Qatar next Friday.
Already, Doha was planning to hold the ordinary Arab annual gathering next March.
"I expect the Arab summit to come up with a unified Arab position," Damascus-based Abu-Marzouk said.
"With a position against the aggression, with a position supporting the Palestinian people that moves away from the slogans to a practical and positive attitude to break the embargo on the Palestinian people."
Responding to calls by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Hamas to renew a truce with Israel to "stop the bloodshed", Abu-Marzouk replied by saying: "Who is asking Hamas to work on calming (the situation), is unrealistic. Abu Mazen (Abbas) is required to stop the bloodshed of Palestinian people, to stand by his people, to face the aggression with a strong and clear position," Abu-Marzouk noted.
Casualties
Nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 people have been injured by the intensive Israeli raids in the past 24 hours, which came in response to scores of rockets launched by Hamas fighters on Israel in the past few days.
Israeli outgoing Prime minister Ehud Olmert warned yesterday of a "long and painful" Israeli offensive on Gaza.
Hamas leader, meanwhile, stressed that ending the Israeli aggression was the only available exit to the explosive situation.
"We will be remain our steadfastness. We won't bow to the Israeli injustice and oppression machine. We will challenge it," Abu-Marzouk said, as he strongly criticised a statement issued by the UN Security Council.
UN statement
The UN body issued a statement expressing serious concern at the escalating situation in Gaza.
It called for both Israel and the Palestine to bring to an immediate halt, all acts of violence and military activities.
Abu-Marzouk described it as "biased towards the Zionist enemy.... it treats equally the unjust aggression and shelling, and the unarmed people (Palestinians in Gaza."
Both Hamas and Egypt meanwhile traded accusation of hindering the process of moving the injured Palestinians out of Gaza for medical treatment through Rafah border.
"The wounded are barred from crossing," into Egypt, Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gait said in Cairo, blaming "those who control Gaza. We are waiting for the wounded to cross."
Abu-Marzouk, however, described opening the Rafah crossing border as "political opening", while Hamas said it was drawing up lists of the wounded but it was proving difficult to transport them to the border because of the seriousness of their injuries and ongoing Israeli strikes on the impoverished territory.
"Injured people need to have many things before they are transported," he said, as he referred to reference to ambulances, field treatment and more information on their treatment abroad. In the previous aggression, some seriously injured people died on the roads," Abu-Marzouk said. "We don't want injured people (this time) also to die during the 8-hour trip on the road."
