Hamas forces in Gaza
Hamas forces in GazaIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization that controls Gaza has threatened to “step on the heads” of the PA government if it compromises on Jerusalem and other issues in direct talks with Israel.

Khalil al-Haya, a leader of the Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced Saturday in Gaza that the group would “step on the heads of those who dare cede the right of return, Jerusalem and Palestine.”

Hamas Won't Recognize Any Agreement

Al-Haya said the talks, set to take place September 2 in Washington D.C., would give Israel the excuse to “wipe away the Palestinian presence, continue Judaizing Jerusalem, continue building settlements and erase the Palestinian right of return.”

He called on PA Arabs to “rise up” against the talks and against the Ramallah-based PA negotiators who are set to travel to the United States. PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas does not “represent Palestine, Jerusalem, the refugees, or al-Aqsa,” Al-Haya said.

He added that Hamas would not agree to recognize any agreement signed by “the Zionist enemy,” and vowed to “prepare for the final battle until your banishment from Palestine.”

Who is Al-Haya?

A senior member of the Hamas leadership, Al-Haya was one of three survivors of the five top leaders, and the first to resurface, following the group's defeat in Israel's counter terrorism Operation Cast Lead war in the winter of 2008-2009.

“We promised to come out to you either as martyrs or as victors,” Al-Haya told supporters at a January 30, 2009 rally. “Today I come out to you, and you are victors.” A year earlier, Al-Haya bragged to reporters in Gaza of his family's track record as martyrs for jihad against Israel.

“This is the 10th member of my family to receive the honor of martyrdom,” he proudly told an AFP news reporter while kissing his son's bloody head in a Gaza morgue; his son had been killed in an IAF air strike while leading a terror cell launching a rocket attack at southern Israel. “I thank G-d for this gift,” he said.

Al-Haya himself has escaped several assassination attempts, including one by the IAF in 2007, when an IAF air strike killed two of his brothers and six other relatives in one of the family homes.

“This is part of our people's path, and G-d willing, our people will achieve victory,” Al-Haya said at the time.