Leaders of the major Palestinian terror groups have called for Arab states and the Muslim world to engage in “terror” during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan — even as the Biden administration aims for a Ramadan truce in Gaza.
Published March 4, 2024
Leaders of the major Palestinian terror groups have called for Arab states and the Muslim world to engage in “terror” during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan — even as the Biden administration aims for a Ramadan truce in Gaza.
Jerusalem Post reported Sunday:
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is calling for Ramadan to be a “month of terror” and seeks to escalate attacks in the West Bank and Gaza. In a recent speech, Abu Hamza, the spokesman for PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades, said he wants Arab countries in the region and pro-Iranian groups to continue to “unify” various arenas and fronts against Israel.
This is the latest indication that terrorist groups plan to seek an escalation in hostilities over the next month. Hamza’s remarks were published by Beirut-based Al Mayadeen news channel, which is pro-Iranian and frequently highlights Hamas and Hezbollah attacks.
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The terrorist group’s comments are also linked to those made by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has called for an escalation of hostilities during Ramadan.
Ramadan is set to begin on March 10, when the new moon heralds the arrival of the new month on the lunar calendar.
Arab and Muslim states have fought many wars on Ramadan, notably the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Egyptian soldiers broke their fasts and crossed the Suez Canal.
But the Biden administration is treating Ramadan with great care, describing it as a traditional time of peace and hoping to fashion a hostage release deal before it begins.
Last week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby had this exchange with reporters at the White House:
Q Thank you so much, John. I’ll start with Israel then move on to Ukraine. You just said it’s not about trying to beat the clock to Ramadan, in terms of a ceasefire. But how concerned is the administration about the possibility of escalation during Ramadan, during this holy month, and how, you know, it’s going to be seen for U.S.-backed troops to be attacking Muslim —
MR. KIRBY: We’re mindful of the sensity — sensitivities, of course, around the month of Ramadan and the import- — the spiritual importance of that to — to the — to the Muslim world. Of course, we understand that.
What — what we don’t want us — we — we want to see this temporary ceasefire in place as soon as possible. And, again, if we can get the agreement for several weeks, it would take you through Ramadan anyway.
The clock that we’re worried about is the — the hostages. We can only assume that they are being held in abhorrent conditions and that their health is at risk, their lives are at risk. We want to get them ba- — out as soon as possible.
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said that Ramadan would be the deadline for a hostage deal, and warned that Israel will invade the southern Gaza town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, if Hamas does not agree to a deal.
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SOURCE: www.breitbart.com
RELATED: Report: Hamas believes 1st Ramadan weekend is more attainable target for deal; Sinwar out of contact for a week
Yahya Sinwar (C), Hamas’s Gaza Strip chief, waves to supporters in Gaza City, on April 14, 2023. (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Published March 4, 2024
An unnamed Hamas official tells the Wall Street Journal that while there is slow progress on an agreement for a temporary ceasefire and hostage deal, it seems unlikely that it will be reached before Ramadan’s expected start on March 10, and instead may come to fruition by the first weekend of the Muslim holy month.
The report also says Egyptian and Qatari officials say there has been no contact with the Gaza leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, for at least a week.
Yesterday, Israel did not send a negotiating team to Cairo after receiving an unsatisfactory response from Hamas on the latest framework for a hostage deal hammered out in Paris last weekend. The Gaza-based terror organization refused to address Jerusalem’s demand to provide a list of living hostages and to lock down how many Palestinian security prisoners Israel must release for every hostage freed, an Israeli official said.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Palestinian Islamic Jihad calls for Ramadan to be ‘month of terror’ – analysis
The PIJ comments are also linked to those made by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has called for escalation during Ramadan.
Published March 4, 2024
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is calling for Ramadan to be a “month of terror” and seeks to escalate attacks in the West Bank and Gaza. In a recent speech, Abu Hamza, the spokesman for PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades, said he wants Arab countries in the region and pro-Iranian groups to continue to “unify” various arenas and fronts against Israel.
This is the latest indication that terrorist groups plan to seek an escalation in hostilities over the next month. Hamza’s remarks were published by Beirut-based Al Mayadeen news channel, which is pro-Iranian and frequently highlights Hamas and Hezbollah attacks.
This comes amid some hope for a hostage, prisoner, and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The US is pushing for such a deal. But Hamas has continued to make it difficult by refusing to hand over a list of names of the living hostages.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a proxy of Iran. It has armed men in Gaza and the West Bank, and its leaders often reside in Damascus, where they sometimes leave to meet with their Iranian handlers in Tehran or to coordinate with Hamas and Hezbollah.
‘Unity of the battlefields’
The terminology used by PIJ ahead of Ramadan is part of the terminology Iran has used over the years to describe its strategy against Israel. This includes references to “unity of the battlefields,” which is a term for “unity of the arenas” or “unity of the fronts.”
These arenas include Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Iran has sought to surround Israel with threats that now exist along an arc of 5,000 miles, from Lebanon via Syria and Iraq to the Red Sea and then back to Gaza.
There are at least seven different “fronts,” according to Iran. Israeli officials have also mentioned these fronts. Iran wants to “unify” them. This means using the Hamas massacre on October 7 to increase attacks from Hezbollah and Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Iraq.
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SOURCE: www.jpost.com
