Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh declared Friday that Palestinians are engaged in an “intifada” against the State of Israel, urging fellow jihadis to continue their bloodthirsty campaign against Israel’s Jews.
A full-scale intifada, or Palestinian “uprising,” has occurred twice during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During the time periods when both Intifadas broke out (1987-1993 and 2000-2005), thousands of people lost their lives due to the Palestinian terror uprisings.
“We are calling for the strengthening and increasing of the intifada… It is the only path that will lead to liberation,” Haniyeh said during prayers at a mosque in Gaza.
“Gaza will fulfil its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready for confrontation,” he threatened, according to the Times of Israel.
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has not at this time employed the tactics seen in their summer 2014 war against Israel, when the militant group launched thousands of rockets towards Israeli population centers. At the moment, the outfit has instead focused on inciting Palestinians to hunt down Jews in Israel, instead of launching rockets from Gaza.
Haniyeh’s speech was coupled with a major flare-up on the Israel-Gaza border Friday, when hundreds of Palestinians rioters hurled rocks at Israeli troops stationed on their side of the dividing line. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers responded by firing at the rioters.
IDF troops “fired at the main instigators in order to halt their advance and disperse the riot,” an Israeli military spokeswoman told the Jerusalem Post. Six Palestinians were killed and nineteen were injured in the rioting, according to reports.
From Wednesday to Friday alone, there has been more than 150 separate terror attacks throughout Israel and the West Bank. Many have already lost their lives, and hundreds have been wounded in the chaos.
The Obama administration, however, has almost completely ignored the Palestinian terror campaign against Israel. When the administration has released official comment, the president’s State Department plays it down the middle, asserting that both sides are to blame for the violence.
President Barack Obama has remained completely silent on the issue. The only statement from the administration came last week from a State Department spokesperson, who called “on all sides to take affirmative steps to restore calm and avoid escalating the situation.”