Head of Hamas's political bureau Ismail Haniyyah on Tuesday said that the Israeli occupation was the party that asked for a ceasefire in the recent military aggression on the Gaza Strip.

During a speech at the Palestinian Legislative Council on the 71st anniversary of the Nakba, Haniyyah said that at the beginning of the aggression Israel refused to deal with the mediators for a ceasefire, but the Palestinian resistance fighters' strikes forced it to end the attack.

Even though 71 years have passed since the Nakba, Haniyyah added, the Palestinian people will never give up their rights to return and resist the occupation.

Haniyya stressed the need for ending normalization with Israel and praised the movements around the world that support the boycott of the occupation state.

In a message to the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the Hamas leader assured them that the Palestinian resistance factions will spare no effort toward their liberation.

ILKHA