Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh
Hamas chief Ismail HaniyehAbed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

Hamas's terror chief in Gaza on Friday labeled the recent terror wave hitting Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, and Kiryat Arba to Afula, as an "intifada," and called for more attacks.

"We are calling for the strengthening and increasing of the intifada... it is the only path that will lead to liberation," Ismail Haniyeh said during a sermon for weekly Muslim prayers at a mosque in Gaza City, reports AFP.

The head of the terror group promised that "Gaza will fulfill its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready for confrontation."

In fact, Hamas has already played a large role in the terror wave.

Israel nabbed the five-man Hamas terror cell in Samaria that gunned down a young couple in front of their four children last Thursday, in a major attack that has been followed by a near endless deluge of stabbings and other attacks since.

Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of being responsible for the capture of the cell, which was based in Shechem (Nablus).

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for their part have demanded more attacks as well, and Abbas has invited Hamas and Islamic Jihad to join the PLO and achieve "Palestinian independence."