Gaza, Feb 4, IRNA � Deputy leader of Hamas said the US is encouraging the Zionists to continue occupation of Palestine and violate rights of Palestinians in Gaza Strip.


Ismail Haniyeh made the remark in an interview with IRNA.

Asked about Hamas' stance on the US 125-million-dollar aid to Israel to discover tunnels on Gaza borders, Haniyeh said the US should stand by the oppressed Palestinians instead of encouragement to violate their rights.

Several combatants of Hamas have been recently martyred during landslide in a tunnel which the Resistance movement used for operation against the Zionists, he said.

The US gives financial help to Israel to destroy the Gaza tunnels, while the Palestinian Resistance uses those tunnels for defending the Palestinian nation, he added.

Hamas and the Palestinian nation are not for war but try to defend themselves, he noted.

The Israeli threats cannot make the Palestinian Resistance frightened, he stressed.

By IRNA