Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in a Wednesday speech urged Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march on Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan, aiming to inflame tensions during a time of heightened religious fervor.
More stories:
"We call on our people to break the siege on Al-Aqsa from the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan. The bare minimum that we accept at Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites is the status quo according to international law," he said in a statement, calling the period of fasting and worship, which is set to begin in less than two weeks, a "month of Jihad."
Israel said on Monday it would allow Ramadan prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming holy month but set limits according to security needs, setting the stage for possible clashes if crowds of Palestinians turn up.
Haniyeh also said that while the terrorist organization is showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel on a potential hostage deal, it is also ready to continue fighting.
"Any flexibility in negotiations, out of concern for the blood of our people, is matched by readiness to defend it," he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he hoped that a cease-fire in Gaza and the freeing of some Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would come to fruition by next week, ahead of Ramadan.
Haniyeh also said that Israel, which he called "the occupation" and "its partner, the United States, will not be able to obtain through political machinations what they did not obtain in fighting."
2 View gallery
Sprawling displaced persons' encampments in Gaza's Rafah
(Photo: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters)
Promising to adhere to the "principles of the nation," Haniyeh addressed Israel's looming ground offensive in Rafah, Hamas' last major stronghold in the Gaza Strip which hosts over a million Palestinians displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory, calling on the so-called Axis of Resistance—allies of Iran comprising Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq—as well as Arab states, to step up their support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
"The threat of new massacres in Rafah reaffirms the nature of this enemy," he said. "The world, especially the brotherly Arab countries, must restrain the enemy and refuse to let it invade the city of Rafah."
He added that "it is incumbent upon Arab and Islamic nations to take the initiative to break the starvation conspiracy in Gaza."