Hamas cancels ceasefire with Israel

It appears the Palestinians of Gaza and Israel are set on collision course again.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which has controlled Gaza for the past 18 months, celebrated its 21st anniversary on Sunday.

Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh announced the group would not renew its six-month long ceasefire with Israel when it expires on Thursday.

“There is no peace, no settlement, only a mirage”, he thundered, adding his party’s workers were hunted down, and that politics between Israel and Hamas had become “a parody and a masquerade”.

Since Hamas took control of Gaza, the Israelis have blockaded the densely-populated strip and strangled the already desperately poor economy.

With little or no revenue, Hamas has struggled to pay for Gaza’s basic services, some of which, like power and water supplies, are frequently cut.

Public sector workers toil without pay, yet over 150,000 people turned out to support their leaders, who appear to have decided to resume violent struggle.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Gaza, Israel