“We have achieved victory in the battle for Jerusalem, the defense of Jerusalem,” Haniyeh said. He later added: “Jerusalem is the axis of conflict.”
Tuesday saw a barrage of missiles over central Israel not seen since 2014, when Hamas and Israel last fought an all-out war. Terror groups launched hundreds of rockets over Israel’s most densely populated areas, with air raid sirens wailing in Tel Aviv, Herzliya and as far north as Netanya.
The escalation began late Monday afternoon, when Hamas fired six rockets toward the Jerusalem area, prompting the brief evacuation of the Knesset plenum, and the suspension of a Jerusalem Day Flag March in the Old City.
Tensions had been rising in the capital since the beginning of Ramadan, with clashes between East Jerusalem Palestinians and Israeli police at the Old City’s Damascus Gate, prompted in part by the pending eviction of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and subsequent heavy clashes around Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.
The Hamas leader said that the terror group had been in contact with leaders around the region since events began to escalate in recent weeks.
“There were contacts I held with regional leaders since the recent events broke out in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, Damascus Gate,” Haniyeh said.
International mediators, including Egypt and Qatar, have been seeking to achieve a ceasefire as the conflict has escalated since Monday. But Haniyeh said that Israel was responsible for starting the conflict and must bear its consequences.
“Hamas is ready for every scenario, whether escalation or ceasefire,” Haniyeh said.
But he added that Hamas “would not abandon Jerusalem, nor will we abandon resistance.” READ MORE
