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Hamas official says organisation prepared for 'scenario of long war'
Now from that Associated Press interview with exiled senior Hamas official Ali Barakeh.
Barakeh said Hamas is ready to fight a long war with
Israel, saying it has an arsenal of rockets that will last a long time. He also said that the hostages taken by Hamas will be used to secure the release of Arabs detained in Israeli jails and Palestinians in US jails.
“We have prepared well for this war and to deal with all scenarios, even the scenario of the long war,” Barakeh told the AP. “We will bring life to a stop in the Zionist entity if the aggression does not stop on
Gaza.”
Barakeh, who was Hamas’ representative in Lebanon for years and is now in charge of coordinating with other Palestinian factions, said his group will use the scores of Israelis it captured in the raid to secure the release of all Arabs detained in Israeli jails and even some Palestinians imprisoned in the United States on charges of funding Hamas.
“There are Palestinians held in America. We will ask for their release,” he said, without specifying who he was referring to.
In 2009, a court in Dallas sentenced two founding members of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the largest US Muslim charity, to 65 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. Three other men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years for conspiracy.
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www.theguardian.com