Jibril Rajoub
Jibril RajoubFlash 90

Senior Fatah member Jibril Rajoub recently called on Hamas to “stop operating according to the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood” and “modify their position so that we may find common ground.”

Rajoub made the statements in an August 13 interview with the official Palestinian Authority TV channel. The interview was translated and posted by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“The PLO and Mahmoud Abbas have an agenda to establish a state, which vexes the Israeli right, and which is targeted in this war. Therefore, we hope that our brothers in the Palestinian Islamic movement will modify their position so that we may find common ground. Let me assure you that we do not want them to disintegrate or grow weaker. The only thing that we expect of them is to conduct an ideological revision,” he said.

“They may be Palestinians with an Islamic dimension, but our national identity is what serves as our common denominator. Let go of the Muslim Brotherhood, with all their virtues and their faults. You have seen how political Islam has failed. It has failed. If the Muslim Brotherhood members want to preach Islam, let them find somewhere else to do so. We hope that they will take their evil away from us. Take your evil away from us. Take it somewhere else,” added Rajoub.

“I say to our brothers in the Islamic movement: We are one big family. We never have overpowered you, and we never will. We will not exploit the outcome of this aggression or the regional alliances that wish to fight political Islam in the Middle East,” he declared.

Despite being a member of Fatah which is touted by the West as a “moderate peace partner” for Israel, has a history of inciting and anti-Israel statements.

In February, Rajoub made an official trip to Iran as Abbas's representative; while there he said in an interview "if [peace] talks fail, armed struggle against (Israel) could be a strategic solution."

He also claimed in a television interview that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler could have learned from Israel about extermination camps and, just several weeks ago accused Israel of inflicting a "holocaust" on Gaza - while saying that Jews deserved the genocide inflicted on them by the Nazis..

Rajoub has suggested in the past that Israel "should be removed", has supported Hamas's threats to kidnap IDF soldiers and has threatened to use nuclear weapons against Israel.