The terror group, which took its name from the mosque on the Temple Mount, has also called for boycotting Wednesday’s election in the PA.
The Brigades’ call to boycott the election ironically may weaken the standing of Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas, the current ruler of the PA, at the polls. On the other hand the Hamas, a terror group driven by radical Islam, that is participating for the first time in a PA election, is encouraging supporters to get out the vote.
The Hamas, which according to a recent poll, is expected to garner nearly 29% of the vote, has not ruled out joining a future PA government coalition. The party said that after the election, it will demand the establishment of a full-fledged Palestinian army that will continue the jihad, or holy war, against Israel.
In an effort to outflank the Hamas and other radical parties, the Brigades accused the various groups running in the election of not sufficiently dealing with the issue of the struggle against Israel. Instead, said the Brigades, those parties are serving the interests of Zionism and the United States, on the basis of the Oslo agreements. As a result, the parties’ policies are liable to be influenced by foreign political pressure.
The Brigades teamed up with the Islamic Jihad, one of the most fanatic terrorist groups operating out the PA, at a rally Monday night in Gaza. A speaker for Islamic Jihad echoed the Brigades’ call to liberate all Israeli territory, and effectively eliminate the Jewish state. “We stand here today on the just road of struggle until the liberation of the last inch of Palestine,” he said.
At a press conference, leading officials of the Islamic Jihad, Nafez Azam and Khaled Albatash also called for boycotting the PA election and for remaining loyal to the armed struggle and to the jihad for liberating “all of Palestine.”
Azam said his group was opposed to holding elections based on the Oslo accords, and establishing a Palestinian state only in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Albatash said that violent opposition to Israel will ultimately succeed in removing the Zionist occupier from Palestine.
One day before the election, the Hamas pressed forward with a media blitz accusing the Fatah with receiving campaign financing from the United States. The group also attempted to project a more pragmatic line in order to expand its voter base.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashal did not negate the possibility of having the terror group join the PA governing coalition. He said he was ready for the Hamas’ own military wing, the Al-Kassam Brigades, to be integrated into a new Palestinian national army that would have as its first priority, the liberation of all Palestinian territory.
The Brigades’ call to boycott the election ironically may weaken the standing of Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas, the current ruler of the PA, at the polls. On the other hand the Hamas, a terror group driven by radical Islam, that is participating for the first time in a PA election, is encouraging supporters to get out the vote.
The Hamas, which according to a recent poll, is expected to garner nearly 29% of the vote, has not ruled out joining a future PA government coalition. The party said that after the election, it will demand the establishment of a full-fledged Palestinian army that will continue the jihad, or holy war, against Israel.
In an effort to outflank the Hamas and other radical parties, the Brigades accused the various groups running in the election of not sufficiently dealing with the issue of the struggle against Israel. Instead, said the Brigades, those parties are serving the interests of Zionism and the United States, on the basis of the Oslo agreements. As a result, the parties’ policies are liable to be influenced by foreign political pressure.
The Brigades teamed up with the Islamic Jihad, one of the most fanatic terrorist groups operating out the PA, at a rally Monday night in Gaza. A speaker for Islamic Jihad echoed the Brigades’ call to liberate all Israeli territory, and effectively eliminate the Jewish state. “We stand here today on the just road of struggle until the liberation of the last inch of Palestine,” he said.
At a press conference, leading officials of the Islamic Jihad, Nafez Azam and Khaled Albatash also called for boycotting the PA election and for remaining loyal to the armed struggle and to the jihad for liberating “all of Palestine.”
Azam said his group was opposed to holding elections based on the Oslo accords, and establishing a Palestinian state only in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Albatash said that violent opposition to Israel will ultimately succeed in removing the Zionist occupier from Palestine.
One day before the election, the Hamas pressed forward with a media blitz accusing the Fatah with receiving campaign financing from the United States. The group also attempted to project a more pragmatic line in order to expand its voter base.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashal did not negate the possibility of having the terror group join the PA governing coalition. He said he was ready for the Hamas’ own military wing, the Al-Kassam Brigades, to be integrated into a new Palestinian national army that would have as its first priority, the liberation of all Palestinian territory.