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.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, including
the Israeli-annexed east, which is home to key Muslim, Jewish and
Christian shrines.
Thursday's rally drew tens of thousands of Hamas supporters, many waving the movement's green flag or sporting Hamas headbands.
Masked Hamas militants marched behind the group's political officials on a raised stage.
A
giant poster showing Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock mosque and a Hamas
militant with a Palestinian flag and a rifle formed the backdrop.
“Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine” read the caption in Arabic and
English.
The anniversary came at a difficult time in Hamas' turbulent history.
A decade after seizing Gaza by force, it has been compelled to seek reconciliation with Abbas' Fatah.
An
Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah in
October has seen Hamas give up control of Gaza crossings, but
differences over collecting revenues hinder its progress.
Hamas
blames an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade, lack of support from Arab
and Muslim nations, and Abbas' alleged attempts to undermine the group
for the hardships in Gaza.
The coastal territory suffers
from 43 percent unemployment and worsening blackouts. In recent days,
rolling blackouts lasted for 24 hours, followed by four hours of
electricity.
