Haneyya: Government will use all means to free prisoners

[ 08/10/2011 - 12:43 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said Friday that the government in Gaza was endeavoring to see the release of the Palestinian captives in the Israeli occupation prisons, calling on the resistance forces to stay firm in their conditions in a prisoner trade-off with Israel. Haneyya declared during a sermon in Shafi’i mosque in Gaza city that the prisoners’ cause had turned from a Palestinian cause to an international one, saying: “We will bring the issue to the arenas of the world and mobilize it in the international forums.. And none of us will compromise on the freedom of the captives.” This comes as more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners have joined a mass hunger strike that began 11 days ago. The Palestinian premier noted that the world community calls for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit but disregards the Palestinian captives. Haneyya vowed to use all possible means to see that the prisoners are released. “We will use all possible means in order to free the captives and restore their freedom,” he said. Haneyya also reiterated opposition to negotiations with Israel as well as the UN statehood bid. “We are not begging for a state, but we want to extract it from the fangs of the occupier (Israel). Like we liberated Gaza, we will liberate the remainder of Palestine,” the Palestinian PM said. “The (Palestinian) state will come not by a decision from the White House or the United Nations, but by the decision of this struggling people and a stance by the [Muslims],” Haneyya went on to say.