Alwaght- A senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has criticized United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's visit to the besieged Gaza Strip.
Ahmad Bahar who is also the deputy speaker of the Palestinian parliament released a statement, urging Ban and the UN to “work seriously” towards ending the decade-long siege imposed on Gaza.
He said Ban's visit to Gaza on Tuesday is “part of the ongoing efforts to resume negotiations to reach a compromise that serves occupation and to contain the Al-Aqsa Intifada.”
The UN has “remained silent towards the Gaza siege crime for ten years” by trying to “treat the victim and the executioner evenly,” he added.
The UN visited Gaza and later addressed a press conference at the al-Zaytoun school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Ban condemned the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, saying the siege inflicts pain on people and damages the economy of the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Tel Aviv’s blockade of Gaza “suffocates its people, stifles its economy, and impedes construction,” he said, warning that the siege fuels tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli imposed siege since June 2007. The inhuman blockade, which is also backed by neighboring Egypt, has resulted in an unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
The Israeli regime has also waged three wars on Gaza since 2008, including the 2014 offensive, which left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead and over 11,100 others injured.
