Hamas official says group is not concerned with UN resolution
Beirut - A Hamas representative on Friday said the Islamist Palestinian movement was not concerned with the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
"The failure of Israel in achieving its goals in the Gaza war led to this resolution, but we stress that no one has consulted us," Ousama Hamdan, who represents Hamas in Lebanon, said.
The 15-nation Security Council voted 14-0 to adopt a resolution Thursday that called for "an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire," leading to the withdrawal of the Israeli defence forces from the Gaza Strip.
"This resolution does not take into account the Palestinian interests and does not talk about lifting the siege and opening the crossings," Hamdan said.
"We have said before and we will repeat, there won't be a ceasefire before the siege is lifted and the crossings are opened," he added.
The adoption of the ceasefire resolution capped three days of intense, closed-door negotiations at United Nations headquarters to hammer out a compromise text acceptable to the permanent members with veto power - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China.
It followed two weeks after Israel launched its military offensive against militants in the Hamas-controlled strip in retaliation for rocket attacks on southern Israel. (dpa)