Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza
Islamic Jihad rally in GazaReuters

Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a senior official in the political branch of Hamas, said at an Islamic Jihad event on Friday in Gaza that Hamas would extend its hand to anyone who helps to “liberate Palestine.”

“We will not accept compromise or any international conception, unless it serves the Palestinian interest,” he said.

In an apparent appropriation, for the purposes of Palestinian ideology, of the Jewish belief in the sanctity of the entire Land of Israel, Al-Zahar erased Israel from the map in his address, and referred to its geographical space as the Arab land of “Palestine.”

“We emphasize the unity of the land, the people, the struggle, and the history, and we do not recognize the terminology of ‘The [West] Bank and Gaza’ as an expression of Palestine; rather Palestine borders on Lebanon and Egypt, and extends from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea,” Zahar said, adding that the unity of the land was holy, permanent and unchanging.

He warned Israel against damaging Al-Aqsa Mosque and the “lions” guarding it. “He who tries to damage Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the lions around it, the ‘West Bank’ and Jerusalem, is delusionally mistaken that he can turn the clock back.”