In a speech Saturday night filled with murderous threats and denunciations of Israel, Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar said the terror group “will not hesitate to take any steps” if Israel “violates” the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“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,” he said.Gesturing at a photo behind him of Israeli police inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sinwar threatened violence against synagogues around the world if the action were repeated.
“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,” Sinwar said.
In the over hour-long address, Sinwar praised the recent terror wave against Israelis that has left 15 dead; encouraged Palestinians in the West Bank and Arab Israelis to commit more attacks; hailed a “global shift” in favor of the Palestinian cause; and urged the Islamist Ra’am party to withdraw from Israel’s governing coalition.
But Sinwar, who directs Hamas’ Gaza bureau and serves as the enclave’s de facto governor, devoted most of his speech to threatening Israel over any actions at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount holy site, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ever since the May war, which Hamas dubbed “The Sword of Jerusalem,” the Gaza-based terror group has threatened to fire rockets at Israel if it violated the organization’s “red lines” in Jerusalem.
“We drew and raised that sword so that the enemy would know that Al-Aqsa did not stand alone, and that our nation would stand if Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem were violated,” said Sinwar.
Palestinians clashed repeatedly with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque over the past month, leading to fears that the violence could again spark a broader escalation. Palestinian rioters hurled stones at police, who responded with rubber bullets, sound grenades, and tear gas, injuring hundreds.
Sinwar further accused Israel of seeking to partition the Temple Mount as a “first step” to “destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and build a temple” in its place. He cited as proof the uptick in Jewish visitors to the holy site over the past few years
“Al-Aqsa is indeed in danger,” Sinwar said.
Sinwar hailed what he deemed the changing winds of global opinion against the Jewish state. He praised Palestinians in the diaspora, who he said had brought about the shift in public opinion.
“If the conflict breaks out again — the shape of the Middle East will change. We have proven that there are those who defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sinwar boasted at the time.
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