Hamas Agrees Ceasefire, Says Hamas Remains On High Alert

Illustration of Hamas militia. (Wikimedia Commons/MujahideenMuqadas)

JAKARTA - Israel and the Armed Group Hamas, Palestine agreed to a ceasefire starting Friday, May 21, at 2 a.m. local time, after 11 hearts were involved in armed clashes.

However, Hamas said it would remain on high alert, as conditions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the eviction of Palestinian settlers, and Israel's reluctance to withdraw its forces from Jerusalem despite agreeing to a ceasefire.

"It is true that the battle ended today. But (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and the rest of the world should know that our hands are on the trigger (alert at arms) and we will continue to develop this resistance capability," hamas political bureau member Ezzat El-Reshiq said.

Reshiq, who is in Doha, Qatar, said his statement was inseparable from demands to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and end the eviction of Palestinians for the construction of Jewish settlements.

Aerial bombardment in densely populated Gaza has killed 232 Palestinians and rocket attacks have killed 12 people in Israel during the 11-day conflict.

"What happened after the battle of 'The Sword of Jerusalem' is unlike anything that happened before, because the Palestinian people supported the resistance and knew that it was the resistance that would liberate their land and protect their holy sites," he said. Reshiq.

Hamas began firing rockets on May 10 in retaliation for so-called Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians in Jerusalem including during a police confrontation at the Al-Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.