Mohammed Deif, the Hamas terror commander in Gaza, called for an all out attack on Israel on Saturday morning in a message that was posted on social media. He called for widespread attacks to “sweep away the occupation.”
Deif claimed that “we have warned the enemy” before noting that Israel had attacked Muslims and “desecrated al-Aqsa.” This was a reference to recent incidents in Jerusalem that have occurred during the high holidays. Deif called on Arabs and Muslims to carry out attacks on Israel in the West Bank and in Israel. “Our righteous mujahideen, this is your day to make the enemy understand that his time is over. They attacked and desecrated Al-Aqsa, and we had previously warned them,” he said in the video. He called for Palestinians to “organize their operations against the settlements and sweep away the occupier,” according to the video posted online at Al-Mayadeen and other sites.
He urged “our people in Jerusalem to move and ignite the ground under the feet of the occupation,” and also called on people “in the Negev, the Galilee, and the Triangle to move and confront the occupier everywhere.” The Triangle refers to the area of Umm al-Fahm and Wadi Ara in central Israel.
He called on Palestinians to attack Israel with whatever weapons they could find: “bring out their guns today, and whoever does not have a gun, let him bring out a knife, a cleaver, or an ax.” He said Palestinians should “carry out your attacks on the settlements with all the means and tools at your disposal.”
'Ignite the ground under the feet of the occupation'
Deif has called the operation a “storm” or “flood” that is meant to strike Israel. Deif has been a terror commander for many years and was targeted by Israel in the past.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”, the official news agency WAFA quoted him as saying.He spoke at an emergency meeting held in Ramallah with a number of top officials from the Palestinian Authority.
Reuters contributed to this report