Muslim Brotherhood commends 'Palestinian resistance gains'

AMMAN — Islamists on Wednesday expressed their support for the Palestinian resistance, noting that to defend Palestine is to defend Jordan.

At a press conference held one day after a truce took effect in the Gaza Strip, the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), said they will support the resistance in Gaza, declaring that the Israeli aggression has failed.

IAF Secretary General Hamzah Mansour said the resistance movement in Gaza has achieved a long awaited victory against Israel and its army.

"We appreciate the role of the press in conveying the true message about this crisis," Mansour added, but criticised some media outlets for reporting the war in an imbalanced and biased manner.

"Israel has lost four times more than its losses in the battle in Lebanon [against Hizbollah] in 2006, and even three-times its losses in its last aggression on Gaza in 2012," he said.

The IAF leader criticised Arab regimes, especially the Egyptian regime, for its position on the aggression on Gaza.

What happened in Gaza will change the situation in relation to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Mansour said.

There is no doubt that the resistance has achieved a victory in Gaza, particularly with the admission of several Israeli leaders, said Zaki Bani Rsheid, the deputy overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

He called for taking advantage of this victory in dealing with the Israelis from now on.

"The battle has not finished yet," Bani Rsheid added, noting that a political war has started and the resistance movement in Gaza now has several alternatives to deal with the "enemy", including using the Israeli soldier it captured o negotiate for the release of Palestinians arrested by the Israelis before and during the war on Gaza.

The Palestinians can also seek the trial of Israeli war criminals before international tribunals, he added.