Islamic Jihad leader warns of \'tougher war\'

Senior Islamic Jihad leader, Khaled al-Batsh has claimed that the Israeli government will try as much as possible to drag our people and the resistance factions to a new confrontation to regain dominance and power of deterrence, which it lost in the recent war on the Gaza Strip. The statements came in a review of the most important political developments in the Palestinian arena, and the region at a seminar organised by the Islamic Federation of Trade Unions at its headquarters in Gaza, on Sunday. Batsh added that the resistance factions succeeded in ringing the alarm sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem which angered Israel. As a result, the enemy tried, before or after the elections, to begin a military battle to regain its prestige and power of deterrence. Moreover, he stressed that despite the fact that the Palestinian people only have some modest capabilities to fight the superior military of the occupying state, we could achieve the victory early when Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, decided to hit Tel Aviv with missiles. Batsh called for the Palestinian factions to be ready for the next confrontation, saying, "next time, we will face a tougher war and aggression, thus we must prepare so that we can defend our people," explaining that there is no option for our people but to continue the struggle with the Zionist enemy. The solution is not the two-state solution or the confederate or anything but an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty over our lands." With regard to the Palestinian reconciliation, Batsh said, "the conditions are currently encouraging than ever to achieve reconciliation," stressing that there is a positive atmosphere on both sides for Hamas and Fatah to complete the Palestinian national unity. He confirmed that the events and developments experienced by Egypt during the past few days stalled the start of the implementation of what was agreed upon regarding the reconciliation, stressing that the Palestinian leadership can form a reconciliation agreement within a few days. On the issue of prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails, he called on the national factions to find a clear and unified strategy in order to save the lives of the prisoners, stressing that the only way to liberate them is by kidnapping Israeli soldiers and exchanging them with our prisoners in Israel.