Hamas marks 30th anniversary at low point of Gaza rule, calls for protests against Trump's Jerusalem move
Hamas marked the 30th anniversary of its founding with a mass rally of many thousands of supporters on Thursday, staging a show of strength at a low point in the Islamic group's history.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a combative speech that the US and Israel have found themselves isolated following President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Hamas has called for a new Palestinian uprising against Israel in response to that recognition.
“We salute the beginning of rage, intifada, and revolution,” Haniyeh told the large crowd that filled a sprawling lot known as al-Katiba Square.
Trump's decision last week has triggered Palestinian protests in the West Bank and Gaza, including some that escalated into deadly clashes with Israeli troops, but it remains unclear whether widespread Palestinian anger at the US will lead to a full-fledged uprising.
Hamas' rival, the Fatah movement of West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, seeks to establish a Palestinian state in lands Israel captured in 1967, with east Jerusalem as a capital. Hamas wants to set up an Islamic state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, which includes Israel.