Hamas criticized the works of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas this week, after he warned Israel against "risk[ing] an intifada" (i.e. terror war - ed.) for defending the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, from violent Arab mobs.
The PA misrepresents Palestinian interests, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri insists; the Palestinian Arab world absolutely wants a new intifada to fight the "crimes of the Occupation."
Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) called on the PA to encourage even more violence against Jews and Israelis following the remarks, to halt security coordination with Israel and to unleash an armed struggle against the Jewish state.
Despite being the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount has been left in the de facto control of the Jordanian Waqf, which has banned Jewish prayer at the site in spite of Israeli law stipulating freedom of worship for all.
Violence has been going on at the Temple Mount complex since before Rosh Hashanah, when masked Muslim rioters hurled rocks and fireworks at police on the Temple Mount, as well as firebombs near two entrances to the site. The clashes continued after the holiday as well.
Abbas has responded by calling for violence at the Temple Mount against Jews, saying, "The Al-Aqsa (Mosque on the Mount - ed.) is ours...and they (Jews) have no right to defile it with their filthy feet."
But the move is not enough for Hamas and other groups, which have long called for open terror war against Israel.
This is also yet another sign of discord between the Hamas and the PA. While the two signed a "unity pact" last year in April, any facade of a combined government has slowly crumbled since then, with recurring talks of a renewed split between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party.
Recently, Hamas openly encouraged a revolution against the PA, calling to "throw it into the trash dump of history" for coordinating with Israeli security forces.