A senior member of Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas has encouraged Palestinians across the globe to kill Jews, drawing outrage from both Israeli and Palestinian officials as well as a UN envoy.
In video from a speech to participants of weekly protests on Friday, Fathi Hamad, a member of the movement’s top political body, can be seen calling on Palestinian Arabs across the globe to carry out attacks.
“If this siege is not undone, we will explode in the face of our enemies, with God’s permission. The explosion is not only going to be in Gaza but also in the West Bank and abroad, God willing,” Hamad said.
“But our brothers outside are preparing, trying to prepare, warming up.”
He continued: “Seven million Palestinians outside, enough warming up, you have Jews with you in every place. You should attack every Jew possible in all the world and kill them.”
Since March 2018 Gazans have been taking part in Hamas-backed protests and clashes along the Gaza-Israel border in part against the Jewish state’s partial blockade of Gaza.
At least 295 rioters and seven Israelis have been killed in Gaza-related violence since.
The Israeli toll recently rose to seven after an 89-year-old woman who fell while running for a bomb shelter during a severe flare-up of violence in May died from her wounds, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.
Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union and others.
Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, said the comments showed “what Hamas is about”.
“Hamas is behind the riots on the Gaza border… Hamas wants to murder Jews worldwide,” Gendelman said on Twitter.
“Now you know why we protect the border with Gaza from Hamas.”
Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, condemned Hamad’s comments.
“The just values of the Palestinian cause include love for freedom, justice and equality. The repugnant statement of Hamas leader Mr. Fathi Hamad about Jews doesn’t represent any of them,” he tweeted.
United Nations envoy Nickolay Mladenov also condemned the comments, labeling them a “dangerous, repugnant and inciteful statement! It must to be clearly condemned by ALL.”
In a statement Monday afternoon, Hamas distanced itself from Hamad’s words.
“These comments do not represent the official positions of the movement and its consistent, adopted policies, which say our conflict is with the (Israeli) occupation which occupied our land and sullies our holy places and not a conflict with Jews across the world or Judaism as a religion,” it said.
The Hamas charter refers numerous times to the Muslims’ struggle against the Jews. Article 28 of the charter states: “Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem
The post Hamas Backtracks After Official Calls To Kill All Jews appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
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