Hamas: Trump’s comments on Jewish ties to Jerusalem false
Terror group says US president’s acknowledgment of Judaism’s ancient presence in holy city is ‘racist, encourages hatred of Palestinians’
The Hamas terror group on Tuesday panned US President Donald Trump’s comments on Judaism’s deep and ancient connection to the city of Jerusalem, calling them “racist” and false.
Speaking at the Israel Museum on Tuesday during a 28-hour visit to the Jewish state, the US president said “Jerusalem is a sacred city. Its beauty, splendor, and heritage are like no other place on earth. The ties of the Jewish people to this Holy Land are ancient and eternal. They date back thousands of years, including the reign of King David whose star now flies proudly on Israel’s white and blue flag.”
Hamas did not agree, with spokesman Fawzi Barhoum saying Trump’s “talk about the Jewish people’s historical and eternal connection to Jerusalem was a falsification of history,” according to a statement posted on the terror group’s official website.
The Hamas spokesperson said Trump’s statement was “racist in the extreme, and establishes the pillars of a new Israeli apartheid regime, and encourages hatred of the Palestinian people.”
“This American policy, which is fully biased for the Zionist entity, will encourage the occupation to commit more crimes and violations against our people and its holy places,”
Hamas, along with the Palestinian Authority, has long accused Israel of committing “violations” against Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. Israel strongly denies this claim.
“This confirms the bet on the American role to be just towards the Palestinians is a losing bet and the selling of an illusion,” Barhoum said.
Hamas had on Monday expressed anger after Trump openly denounced the group as terrorists during a speech to Arab and Muslim leaders given in Saudi Arabia.
At a rally organized by Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas official Mohammed Abu Askar said his group received the terrorism label because it “refuses to bow to the dictates of America.”
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem wrote Monday night on Twitter, “Accusing Hamas of being a terrorist is like accusing the entire national Palestinian struggle [of terrorism].”
Hamas is considered a terrorist group by most of the Western world, including Israel, the European Union, Canada, Australia and the United States.
Another terror group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, held a demonstration in Gaza City Tuesday, pointing rifles at an effigy of Trump and declaring he was unwelcome in the the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Trump had traveled to Bethlehem for a meeting with President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
Hani al-Thawabta, a leader of the Marxist terror group in Gaza, said, “Trump is a symbol of evil in the world,” according a report in the Gaza-based news site al-Resaleh.
“You are unwelcome in our country of Palestine and our people will not accept your solutions,” he added.
Thawabta also railed against Trump for labeling Hamas a terror group.
