On December 7, Hamas Movement leader Ismail Haniyeh called the Palestinians people to launch a “new intifada” against Israel on December 8 during a speech in Gaza strip according to Reuters Agency.
“We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada in the face of the Zionist enemy … Let December 8 be the first day of the intifada against the occupier,” Haniyeh said during his speech.
Haniyeh described US president Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem city as the capital of Israel as a “declaration of war” against the Palestinian people. Hamas Movement leader also stressed that Jerusalem will always be united as an Arabian Palestinian Islamic city.
“United Jerusalem is Arab and Muslim, and it is the capital of the state of Palestine, all of Palestine,” Haniyeh said.
During his speech, Haniyeh revealed that Hamas Movement members were given instruction to be fully ready for any orders that may be given to confront what he called a “strategic danger that threatens Jerusalem and threatens Palestine”.
Gaza Strip, the Western Bank and Jerusalem city itself witnessed limited protests against Trump’s decision on December 7. Clashes between the protestors and the Israeli security forces were reported by Palestinian activists in the town of Bethlehem and the city of Ramallah in the Western Bank. Over 50 protestors were arrested by the Israeli security forces, according to activists.
The Hamas Movement will likely work to increase the tension with Israel in the upcoming days, mainly because the Palestinian government didn’t take any measures what so ever to protest Trump’s decision. A military escalation between the Hamas Movement and Israel could be expected if the Palestinian government continues ignoring the anger on the streets.