Hamas to Palestinians: Take up arms to defend al-Aqsa against Israel
A top official of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Palestinians must take up arms to protect the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), amid recent flare-up of tensions in and around the holy site.
"The only solution to defend the al-Aqsa Mosque and to prevent Israelis from carrying out their plans there is for West Bank and Jerusalem residents to take up arms," Mahmud Zahar said in an interview posted on Hamas website.
Tensions have been on the rise in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds over the past several days, with Israeli forces attacking Palestinian protesters at the holy site.
On Friday, numerous attacks were reported on Palestinians in the West Bank as Israeli troops searched for a Palestinian whom they claimed had fatally attacked an illegal settler.
"Until now weapons have only served to protect the settlers and the occupiers," said Zahar, adding that the West Bank enjoys “great human resources that can be mobilized at any moment.”
The image of Palestinians hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces “has dealt a blow to the occupier," he said.
The Tel Aviv regime has recently moved to toughen the measures against Palestinian stone-throwers in al-Quds, broadening rules to allow Israeli military forces to target Palestinians with live bullets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on September 24 that the Tel Aviv regime “has decided to authorize police to use live ammunition against people throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.”
Stone-throwing has been a symbol of Palestinian resistance against the Tel Aviv regime’s arrogant policies and atrocities since the first Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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