Hamas leader abroad Haniyeh says terror group committed to abiding by terms of truce

In a short video, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says that Hamas is committed to abiding by the terms of the truce, as long as Israel does the same.

Haniyeh further says that “Hamas will pursue its effort to halt the Israeli assault on Gaza, complete the prisoner exchange, end the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and “attack” on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in addition to enabling the Palestinian people to realize their legitimate national right for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capit al, self-determination and the return [of Palestinian refugees].”

The terminology is intentionally ambiguous, since in Hamas’s rhetoric Israel is an illegitimate state, and when the terror group speaks of a Palestinian state, it generally refers to a state established on the territory of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza — hence the demand to establish “Jerusalem” as its capital, and not “East Jerusalem,” which is the common demand put forward by the Palestinian Authority and many of the international community.