The resistance forces Israel into honouring terms of the ceasefire deal

There may well be a prisoner exchange this Saturday after all.

Abu Hamza of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Abu Hamza, the spokesman of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing, Al-Quds Brigades, issued a statement on Wednesday, warning the Israelis that “the fate of the captives held by the resistance is directly linked to Netanyahu’s actions, whether negative or positive,” as the Zionist regime has continuously failed to uphold its end of the bargain in the ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance that came into effect on January 19.

Here’s Abu Hamza’s two-part message to the Israelis (originally posted in Arabic and Hebrew):

1. The successive events and developments since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation until now have proven that the only solution to recovering the prisoners and restoring stability is through a prisoner exchange deal. The Palestinian resistance has fulfilled its duties and commitments to the fullest, while the enemy has abandoned its captives to danger and uncertainty.

2. We hold the occupation government responsible for the consequences of evading its commitments to our afflicted people and for the continuous violations of the ceasefire agreement. The fate of the captives held by the resistance is directly linked to Netanyahu’s actions, whether negative or positive. We reaffirm the fundamental principle that we remain committed to the ceasefire agreement in all its details, as long as the enemy adheres to it.

Soon after Abu Hamza’s statement, Al-Quds Brigades released a video reinforcing its spokesperson’s statement. The video shows behind the scene footage of the handover of the two Zionist (and five Thai) prisoners that were held by PIJ and released on January 30. The nearly two-minute video, clearly meant to appeal to the Israeli public, ends with Arabic and Hebrew captions, “What about the rest?! Their fate is directly linked to Netanyahu’s behaviour.”

Netanyahu’s behaviour had a near-instant change after the video’s release.

By the end of Wednesday, the Israelis for the first time since the start of the ceasefire, sent the necessary aid into Gaza as specified in the agreement signed on January 15.

Ramy Abdu of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor wrote on Twitter late Wednesday: “Today, the highest rate of trucks arrived in Gaza, and for the first time, Israel committed to the daily requirement.”

He provided details of the aid trucks that entered the besieged enclave:

Total trucks entered: 801
Total to the north: 231
From Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing: 139
From Zikim Colony: 92
Total to the south: 570

(including 10 gas and 29 fuel)

The 2.3 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip endured over 15 months of relentless bombings from Israel with bombs provided by its Western allies, and are now struggling to get back on their feet and go about their lives as the Israelis have prevented the entry of sufficient aid. This trademark Israeli treachery combined with Trump’s divorced-from-reality rhetoric about “owning” Gaza and forcing its residents into Jordan and Egypt ultimately pushed the Palestinian resistance into taking a stand.

On Monday night, Abu Obeida of Al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas) announced that the Palestinians will not be handing over the next batch of Zionist prisoners of war due to the repeated ceasefire violations and “non-compliance with the terms of the agreement” by Israel. It led to Trump threatening to “cancel” the ceasefire and “let hell break out” if “all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday [February 15] 12 o’clock.”

Having got the nod from the White House, Netanyahu repeated Trump’s words following a Tuesday security cabinet meeting: “If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas.”

Netanyahu added that his genocidal vultures were already circling Gaza for another round of feasting on human flesh, “In light of Hamas’s announcement regarding its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, last night I instructed the IDF to amass forces inside — and surrounding — the Gaza Strip.”

His war minister, Israel Katz, cut from the same Biblical psychopathic cloth as Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, also joined in on the genocidal bluster: “If Hamas stops releasing the hostages, then there is no agreement and there is war,” which he promised, will be “different in intensity” and “will not end without the defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages.”

Interestingly, despite Netanyahu and his ilk’s typical bombastic rhetoric, the Israeli security establishment knows what the whole world knows and Abu Hamza reiterated: the Palestinian resistance has faithfully abided by the terms of the ceasefire deal. Even the rabidly Zionist Israeli press couldn’t put a spin on this truth. “The defence establishment and the IDF say that so far the terrorist organization has not violated the agreement, and therefore it is highly doubtful whether Israel can take steps against Hamas at this stage,” Zionist rag Maariv reported on Tuesday.

Now that the resistance has held its ground despite the usual fearmongering from their Israeli and Western tormentors (after all what threat do they pose that can be worse than 15 months of unrestrained genocide that puts the barbarians of yore to shame?), the Zionists appear to finally hold their end of the deal, fourth week into the ceasefire. “Israel will increase the entry of aid into the strip, mainly consisting of tents, gas, and medical equipment,” Haaretz reported on Thursday. “According to sources, the entry of caravans depends on their production process in Egypt.”

The administration in Gaza recently produced a list of the shortfall in the promised aid for the suffering people of the enclave. Now that their grievances are being addressed, the release of the next batch of three Zionist prisoners is likely to go ahead on Saturday. Citing AFP, Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that “Hamas confirmed to Egyptian officials its commitment to the agreement and to implementing the sixth batch of prisoner exchange on time Saturday, as soon as the occupation commits.”

This whole episode illustrates once again that without the resistance the Palestinians won’t even be allowed food to eat and water to drink, let alone liberate themselves from the clutches of the racist, inhuman, genocidal ideology of Jewish supremacism that occupies them and kills them at will. Resistance is the only way to liberation.

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