The head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahye Sinwar, threatened to launch a “regional, religious war.”
By Pesach Benson, United With Israel
In an hour-long speech filled with threats against Israel, Yahye Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, insisted that Hamas was prepared to attack synagogues around the world to retaliate for Israeli presence on the Temple Mount, where the Al Aqsa Mosque compound is located.
On several occasions during the month of Ramadan, Palestinians attacked police on the Temple Mount and barricaded themselves inside the Al Aqsa Mosque. Israeli police eventually had to enter the mosque, where they found stockpiles of rocks and firecrackers.
“Our people must prepare for a great battle if the occupation does not cease its aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sinwar said. “Violating Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem means a regional, religious war.”
Sinwar then gestured at a photo mounted behind him showing Israeli security personnel inside the mosque and said “Whoever makes the decision to allow this photo to be repeated, the violation of Al-Aqsa — he has decided to allow the violation of thousands of synagogues all across the world.”
The Gaza strongman also made the baseless claim that Israel was seeking to partition the Temple Mount. Sinwar’s so-called proof is the increased number of Jews visiting the Jerusalem esplanade in recent years. The Temple Mount has remained Judaism’s holiest site for thousands of years, long before Islam existed.
This alleged partition, he claimed, was Israel’s first step to “destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and build a temple.”
Sinwar claimed Hamas was prepared to fire a barrage of 1,111 rockets at Israel in a war over the holy site.
“The battle did not end with the end of Ramadan, but will really begin with its end,” Sinwar insisted.
After praising deadly terror attacks against Israelis, Sinwar also denounced Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab Israeli Ra’am party, for sitting in an Israeli coalition government. He called Abbas, “Abu Righal,” a reference to an Arab traitor in the pre-Islamic era.
“That you serve as a support to this government which violates Al-Aqsa is an unforgivable crime,” Sinwar said.
Sinwar also said Hamas is working with unspecified parties to break Israel and Egypt’s maritime blockade of Gaza, which appeared to be a reference to Iran. The Israel-Egypt blockade was put in place in 2007 to prevent weapons smuggling after Hamas violently seized control of the Strip.