by Daniel Siryoti, Efrat Forsher, Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
"We bless this heroic operation resisting the Israeli occupation to force it to stop its crimes and violations against our people," Hamas spokesman says • Crowds rally in Palestinian cities chanting anti-Israeli slogans and handing out sweets.
Gaza residents hand out
sweets in celebration of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem [Illustrative]
|
Photo credit: AFP  |
Thousands of Hamas activists and supporters
took to the streets of Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Sunday
night to rally against Israel and praise the ramming attack in Jerusalem
that killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded 15 others.
Sunday's attack was
the deadliest in months and targeted officer cadets as they were
disembarking from a bus that had brought them to the Armon Hanatziv
promenade, which has a panoramic view of the Old City.
"We bless this heroic operation resisting the
Israeli occupation to force it to stop its crimes and violations against
our people," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Reuters.
Chanting anti-Israeli slogans, the protesters marched to the rally, where sweets were handed out in celebration.
"The message of our Islamic party Hamas is a
message of encouragement and support for every jihadi who carries out an
attack that puts an end to the acts of the Zionist enemy," said Hamas
official Fathi Hamad, who led the rally.
Palestinian media affiliated with the Islamist
group aired the footage of the attack repeatedly, mocking the cadets as
they ducked for cover. Palestinian social media was rife with posts
lauding the attack, as well as with cartoons praising the terrorists and
mocking Israeli soldiers.
Actions inspired by Islamic State in Israel
have been rare and only a few dozen Arab Israelis and Palestinians are
known to have declared their sympathies with the group.
A statement issued by Hamas Sunday warned of further attacks.
"The intifada truck attack was not a lone
incident. We welcome the heroic act by this shahid ['martyr']. Such acts
will continue and any attempt to stop the intifada is doomed to fail,"
Hamas said.
The Palestinian Authority offered no comment
on the incident, in line with the policy of Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas' office in recent years by which the Palestinian
leadership neither praises nor condemns terrorist attacks.
A senior official in Abbas's office warned
that "if the U.S. Embassy is relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we
will see more terrorist attacks and violent incidents of this nature."
Daniel Siryoti, Efrat Forsher, Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=39415
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