The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdallah Abu Shawesh, says Hamas is ready to release Israeli hostages captured during the October 7 attack on Israel on the condition that Israel frees the over 6,000 innocent Palestinians currently held in different Israeli prisons.
Speaking at a world press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the envoy said over 1,600 Palestinians have been illegally detained by Isreal in the occupied West Bank since the war on Gaza broke out on October 7.
He said, “What happened on October 7 in Israeli territory is a natural reaction to years of occupation of Palestine and the displacement of the Palestinians from their historical lands by Israel since 1948.
“In 1967, Israel succeded in occupying the remaining 22% of the historical land of Palestine. We should not be trapped when it comes to October 7. On October 6, the Israelis killed seven Palestinians, but that didn’t make the news in the Western media. Since the beginning of this year until October 6, Israel has killed 152 Palestinians, including a two-year-old child brutally murdered for fun.
“What happened on October 7 was the fire, but the smoke was ignited by the Israeli occupation when they forcefully expelled us from our home in 1948. We condemn the Israeli occupation and the massacre of innocent Palestinians. But we will never condemn the symptoms.
“I strongly believe that all the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas should be released. The Palestinian detainees in Israel should also be released. Hostages on both sides should be freed. Many Palestinian children were jailed because they made posts on social media. Our people are denied the freedom to use social media by the Israeli occupation.”
The ambassador, who classified the current crisis in Gaza into physical war, media war and political war advocated a two-state solution as the only means of resolving the Israeli-Plaestinian conflict.
“Two-state solution is our only demand as Palestinians. The Israelis are the only ones putting a barrier to the implementation of a two-state solution based on the United Nations Resolution 181 of 1948. President Mahmoud Abbas will not cease to call for a two-state solution. This is not only our request but that of the international community.
“The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accept to build our state on Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem. These are the occupied Palestinian territories according to the international law. It accounts for only 22% of our historical land. To do so, Israel should accept to withdraw from this historical land and withdraw the illegal Israeli settlements there,” he added.
Since the current war started on October 7, over 8,805 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with over 21,543 injured. Over 1,400 Israelis have also died in the conflict, with another 5,431 sustaining injuries.
Over 1.4 million Palestinians are currently displaced as a result of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, destroying homes and critical infrastructures.
