By Mustafa Deveci and Esat Firat
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip on Thursday described the recent cease-fire between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel as "fragile."
The attitude of the Tel Aviv administration will determine the future of the cease-fire, Yahya Sinwar told Anadolu Agency.
“If the occupation state halts any future attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem and our people there, the cease-fire will sustain,” Sinwar said.
"If the occupiers desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque again or force our people in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to leave their homes — repeat what they did before, the cease-fire will be broken," he warned.
Sinwar urged the international community to put pressure on the Tel Aviv administration to adhere to international law and to stop its attacks on Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinians.
Accusing Israel of committing new "massacres" and “crimes against humanity” during the latest onslaught, Sinwar said they are ready to make all kinds of sacrifices to protect Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.
An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel took effect last Friday, putting an end to 11 days of the worst cycle of fighting in years.
Since April 13, clashes erupted across the occupied territories because of Israeli attacks and restrictions on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and an Israeli court’s decision to evict 12 Palestinian families from their homes in favor of Israeli settlers.
Tensions moved to Gaza on May 10, leading to a military confrontation between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance groups where Israeli warplanes caused an unprecedented scale of destruction in the occupied territory.
At least 254 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and more than 1,900 others injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian medics. At least 31 Palestinians were also killed in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Thirteen Israelis were killed by Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as capital of a future Palestinian state.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Since 2003, Israel has allowed settlers into the compound almost on a daily basis.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara.
