US A Major Barrier to Gaza Ceasefire: Islamic Jihad Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement accused the United States of obstructing a Gaza ceasefire agreement by failing to pressure Israel into accepting a permanent truce.
The United States is the primary obstacle to achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, a high-ranking official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement said, arguing that Washington exerts no pressure on Israel to accept a permanent truce in the region.
"Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip," Islamic Jihad Deputy Secretary General Muhammad al-Hindi stated on Monday evening. He explained that their position aligned with Hamas during the truce negotiations in Cairo, affirming that both resistance groups shared the same national stance.
Al-Hindi added that Israeli regime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand for control over the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, is politically motivated and unrelated to security concerns.
"The control of the Rafah border crossing is an internal Palestinian matter, and no party can dictate its management," al-Hindi emphasized.
He reiterated that the United States remains the main hurdle to a ceasefire, suggesting that it would be in the White House's electoral interest to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. He also highlighted the need for the free movement of Palestinians between Gaza's northern and southern regions.
Al-Hindi accused Israel of reneging on previously agreed terms for partisan and political objectives, maintaining that the regime’s occupation of Gaza crossings allows continued control over the Palestinian movement.
Palestinian resistance fighters, through ongoing operations, are gradually weakening the Israeli military and compelling its forces to withdraw from Gaza, he noted.
Israel initiated its war on Gaza on October 7 last year, following a surprise retaliatory attack by Palestinian resistance groups. Since then, Israel has enforced a near-total siege on the territory, severely restricting the flow of food, medicine, electricity, and water.
The ongoing genocidal military offensive has resulted in the deaths of at least 40,435 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents, with another 93,534 Palestinians injured.
