Hamas: This is an existential conflict

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas movement, said on Sunday that the city of Jerusalem will be the focus in achieving the “great victory” and the liberation of “Palestine”.

In a speech marking the 52nd anniversary of the torching of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Australian Christian, Haniyeh said the battle for Jerusalem had become an important milestone in the path of conflict with the enemy and a turning point that would eventually lead to the withdrawal of the “occupation”.

Haniyeh said that the last round of confrontation (Operation Guardian of the Walls) was an unprecedented development in the history of the confrontation with the enemy, which was defeated, as Palestinian resistance organizations managed to thwart the IDF’s military strategy.

The Hamas leader added that the last round of confrontation taught once again that the city of Jerusalem was and still is the focus of the confrontation with the enemy and it cannot surrender as long as there is a jihadist soul.

Haniyeh stressed that “the confrontation with the occupation of Palestinian land is not a conflict over borders, but an existential conflict, and a religious and ideological fight.”

The Palestinian Arab fight in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Bab el-Amud, Haniyeh said, conveyed the message that the overall struggle, led by the armed struggle, is the shortest path to the liberation of Palestine.

In addition, Haniyeh noted that the uprising of Israeli Arabs during Operation Guardian of the Walls illustrated the unity of the Palestinian fight against Israel.