President Mahmoud Abbas, as part of his holiday wishes, condemned the United States for its so-called deal of the century, which he referred to as ‘a conspiracy against the Palestinian people.’
Abbas claimed that the time will come when the Palestinians will liberate the country – referring to Israel – and will establish a state with east Jerusalem as its capital. He said: “Best wishes to all of us for a happy Eid (holiday in Arabic) with health and safety God willing, to our people and nation, and it will come again when our country is liberated and returned to us and the state of Palestine is established and its capital East Jerusalem by God’s will”. / “We overcame all the conspiracies which are surrounding our people like the deal of the century and such, which will go to hell, God willing, and the victory will remain, and the people will remain in their land steadfast and patient because God will achieve this victory.”
Meanwhile in the Gaza Strip, Deputy chief of the Islamist Hamas organization, Khalil al Hayya, declared during a mass Islamic prayer procession, that the enclave’s Palestinian population will never abandon their foundation – which calls for the liberation of all ‘Muslim lands’ – including those controlled by the state of Israel. According to Khalil al Hayya: “We insist on holding our Eid in the locations of Jihad (“holy Muslim war”), the bond (to the land) and the marches of return, to indicate to the world that the will of the people of Palestine and the people of Gaza, will not break and their determination will not break, and they do not give up on their homeland and they do not retreat from their foundations.”
The foundation, which Al-Hayya refers to is elaborated in Hamas’ charter, calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state by means of Jihad – the Arabic term for a “holy Muslim war.” In the charter’s introduction, Hamas openly declares that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” Its charter further underscored Hamas’s pledge to pursue Jihad against all non-Muslims in general, and Jews in particular.