Today marks the 17th anniversary of the Israeli occupation forces and colonial settlers’ withdrawal from the Gaza Strip thanks to the stubborn Palestinian resistance and the sacrifices made by courageous Palestinians.

The Palestinian resistance forced the then-Israeli occupation’s prime minister Ariel Sharon who once said “The fate of Tel Aviv is the fate of Netzarim”, to pull his armed forces and settlers out from the coastal enclave and dismantle the colonial settlements in it.

The Israeli occupation’s withdrawal is proof that the option of resistance is the only path to liberate Palestine and defeat the Israeli occupation whose will was broken in Gaza.

The Palestinian resistance that managed to push the Israeli occupation out of the besieged Gaza Strip in 2005 has been defending its people, lands, and sanctities against the Israeli occupation forces and settlers’ attacks.

On this anniversary, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas states the following:

First: Hamas hails the Palestinian people across Palestine and in the diaspora for their steadfastness in the face of the Israeli occupation and support of the Palestinian resistance while standing up for their rights.

Second: The Israeli occupation’s unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, imposed for more than 15 years, military offensives against it, the closure of the border crossings, and the denial of access to medicine and food that negatively affected innocent civilians and resulted in deteriorated Palestinians’ health and economic conditions and worsening crises, are heinous crimes against humanity that disregard international laws and norms.

Third: The colonial settlement expansion the Israeli occupation authorities used to practice in Gaza has ceased to exist, and their ongoing and escalating settlement and Judaization projects in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and across Palestinian territories are considered theft crimes and will not change history. And our Palestinian people will continue to resist the Israeli occupation until liberation and return.

Fourth: We appreciate all the roles and efforts made by states, governments, and organizations supporting humanitarian and development projects in the Gaza Strip and mitigating the effects and repercussions of the blockade. We also call on the Arab and Islamic nations, and the international community to increase their support to reconstruct what was destroyed by the Israeli occupation and to immediately lift the unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas reiterates that Palestinians will continue on the path of resistance until regaining their legitimate rights and defeating the Israeli occupation.