Hamas, Islamic Jihad vow to continue resistance on anniversary of Deir Yassin massacre

Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance movements have pledged to keep up their struggle for the liberation of Palestine as Palestinians marked the 75th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre by Israelis.

“The Palestinian people’s undying memory will keep remembering the Deir Yassin massacre — the heinous crime that has revealed the fact that this [Israeli] entity was founded on committing massacres,” Hamas said in a statement on Sunday.

The anniversary has come while Israel "continues to practice the worst forms of crime and terrorism against our land, people, prisoners and holy sites" amid the silence of the international community, it said.

The resistance movement called for urgent action to end Israeli crimes, prosecute the leaders of the regime and enable the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate rights.

It said the Deir Yassin massacre as well as other crimes being committed daily by Israel will not prevent the Palestinians from continuing their struggle and resistance to liberate their land.

In a separate statement, Islamic Jihad spokesman Tariq Salmi said the anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre is "a clear proof of the Israeli regime's bloodshed and terrorism."

"The Palestinian nation will not forget the crime that took place at the hands of the occupying criminal gangs and caused the killing of women and children in Deir Yassin. The crimes of the Israelis have not stopped and the aggression against our nation continues in various forms," he said.

Salmi said the Palestinians will continue to defend their land despite Israel's continuous acts of aggression, warning that the regime will pay a heavy price for its crimes sooner or later.

Seventy-five years ago, Israeli militias murdered at least 360 men, women, and children as they went on rampage in Deir Yassin. 

The massacre took place on April 9, 1948 when around 120 members of Irgun Zvai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel paramilitary groups attacked the village near al-Quds. 

Three days after the massacre, a delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Palestine visited Deir Yassin and observed more than 200 dead men, women and children.

Rights groups say Israel has pursued a policy of establishing and maintaining a Jewish demographic majority, and maximizing control over land and resources to benefit extremist Israeli settlers since its illegal establishment in 1948.

Israeli regime occupied the West Bank and East al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.

MG