Annexation is Declaration of War, Says Hamas’ Qassam Brigades

A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza in this August 18, 2014. (Reuters)
A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza in this August 18, 2014. (Reuters)
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Annexation is Declaration of War, Says Hamas’ Qassam Brigades

A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza in this August 18, 2014. (Reuters)
A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza in this August 18, 2014. (Reuters)

Hamas’ armed wing said on Thursday that Israel’s decision to annex parts of the occupied West Bank “a declaration of war against Palestinian people.”

“We will make the enemy bite its fingers in regret for such a sinful decision,” said Abu Ubaida, spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.

In a televised speech, Ubaida stressed that “Qassam will not speak much and will say what is clear for the occupation to understand.”

He affirmed the resistance movement’s commitment and pledge to hold a prisoner exchange deal with Israel, noting it was a priority for his group.

He also pointed out that no deal will be made without the release of senior prisoners and prisoners with Israeli blood on their hands.

“The resistance will be the loyal and dutiful guard of the people throughout this war, acting in defense of our people, our land and our holy sites.”

The Qassam’s threats came two days after Hamas’ call for a massive “popular revolution” throughout Palestinian territories and the Arab and Muslim worlds to thwart Israel’s unilateral annexation plan.

Tel Aviv fears the situation could escalate in the Gaza Strip and possibly in the West Bank, and worries that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to drag Hamas to clash with Israel.

Sources said that the cessation of security and civil coordination may affect the payment of salaries and the flow of goods to and from Gaza, stoking tensions in the already-tense coastal enclave.

Israeli security forces are concerned that an escalation in the Strip could coincide with an intifada in the West Bank.



Palestinian Officials Say Israeli Settlers Torched Cars in Ramallah

Palestinians inspect their burnt vehicles at the site where Israeli settlers attacked in Al-Bireh near the West Bank city of Ramallah, 04 November 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect their burnt vehicles at the site where Israeli settlers attacked in Al-Bireh near the West Bank city of Ramallah, 04 November 2024. (EPA)
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Palestinian Officials Say Israeli Settlers Torched Cars in Ramallah

Palestinians inspect their burnt vehicles at the site where Israeli settlers attacked in Al-Bireh near the West Bank city of Ramallah, 04 November 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect their burnt vehicles at the site where Israeli settlers attacked in Al-Bireh near the West Bank city of Ramallah, 04 November 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers were behind an attack in which several cars were torched overnight just a few kilometers (miles) away from the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

No one was wounded in the attack overnight into Monday in Al-Bireh, a city adjacent to Ramallah, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority is headquartered. An Associated Press reporter counted 18 burned-out cars.

Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have surged since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel.

But attacks in and around Ramallah, home to senior Palestinian officials and international missions, are rare.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers population centers in the territory, condemned the attack. Israeli police, who handle law enforcement matters involving settlers in the West Bank, said they were investigating.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state. The territory’s 3 million Palestinians live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy over less than half of the territory.

Over 500,000 Jewish settlers with Israeli citizenship live in scores of settlements across the West Bank, which most of the international community considers illegal.