In a video message addressed to the Iranian people and leaders, the deputy chief of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, asked for support against Israel. The video comes at a time when during the last 2½ months knife stabbings by Palestinians and shootings by the Israeli military have so far resulted in the deaths of 19 Israelis and 106 Palestinians. The video also comes as a surprise given that relations between Iran and Hamas have soured over the Syrian civil war, and even scheduling a meeting between the two has been an impossible feat.
In the three-minute video shared by Raja News, Haniyeh attempted to convince Iranian leaders the current unrest by mostly unorganized Palestinian youths is indeed a third intifada. “From the holy land of Palestine, from Jerusalem, to the Muslim and brotherly nation of Iran, I state this intifada is blessed, this intifada is sacred,” he said. “From the scenes at Al-Aqsa Mosque, it has taken shape from the spirit of faith, the spirit of jihad and the spirit of resistance.”
