Palestine’s Hamas calls for ‘rage day’ against US, Israel

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas decries as a declaration of “war” a US decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of the occupying regime in Israel, calling for a “day of rage” against Washington and Tel Aviv.

In a televised speech on Thursday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called Washington’s decision an “aggression on our people and a war on our sanctuaries.”

He called for a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against Israel and said this should begin on Friday.

“This Zionist policy supported by the US cannot be confronted unless we ignite a new intifada,” he said. “Let December 8 be the first day of the intifada against the occupier.”

Haniyeh said his Gaza-based resistance movement is fully ready “to confront this strategic danger that threatens Jerusalem [al-Quds] and threatens Palestine.” 

The Hamas chief said Palestinians do not recognize Israel as the entity has no land in the Palestinian territories to claim a “capital city.”

“United Jerusalem [al-Quds] is Arab and Muslim, and it is the capital of the state of Palestine, all of Palestine,” he said.

Haniyeh further called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from peacemaking with Israel and on Arabs to boycott the Trump administration.

“It should be announced that the so-called peace agreement was buried, once and for all, and that there is nothing called a partner for the Palestinians in peace,” he said.

Senior officials of the Islamic Jihad resistance movement also said the time is ripe for Palestinians to put aside their differences and counter the Israeli occupation together.

In a press conference, they called on all Arab countries to respond to Trump’s move.

The remarks come as Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip are holding a general strike as well as mass protests to denounce the US move.

Shops remained closed and students stayed home on Thursday following a call by Palestinian factions for a strike in all schools as well, Palestinian sources reported.The general strike was also observed by many businesses.

The Palestinian Education Ministry on Thursday declared a day off and urged teachers and students to take part in the anti-US rallies in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem al-Quds.

The Israeli military said it was deploying battalions to the West Bank as reinforcements to respond to the widespread protests.

Meanwhile, clashes were reported between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops were reported in parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Trump reversed decades of US policy to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel, upsetting the Muslim world and Western allies alike.

The announcement has triggered a chorus of condemnations from around the world.

The UN Security Council has also announced an emergency session on Friday upon a request by eight member states.

Palestinians came out in spontaneous protests following the announcement on Wednesday night in Jerusalem al-Quds, Ramallah, Bethlehem and other West Bank cities and in Gaza.

Palestinian factions called for three days of rage to protest the US move on Jerusalem al-Quds, which Israel has occupied in the June 1967 war. The climax of these protests is expected on the third day, Friday, following the noon prayers.

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