Netanyahu between devil and the deep blue sea: Top Hamas official

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has reacted to reports that Israeli officials have rejected prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to hold a joint press conference with him, stating that the chairman of the Likud party has two choices that are both equally unpleasant.

“Netanyahu is between the devil and the deep blue sea. He must either step down and stand trial before settlers, or continue the Gaza onslaught and face justice at the hands of fighters from the al-Qassam Brigades – Hamas’s military wing,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said late on Saturday.

He added that Netanyahu is now isolated and rejected even by high-profile figures of the regime’s war machine.

“Crest-fallen Netanyahu is trying to escape from his repeated failures,” Rishq said, noting that Netanyahu, despite having declared opposition to any of Hamas’ provisions, has come to the terms that it is the Palestinian resistance front that is imposing conditions and has the upper hand on the battlefield.

“By God’s grace, resistance fighters will emerge victorious at the end of the Gaza war, and will terminate all forms of the Zionist occupation,” the senior Hamas official said.