AhlulBayt News Agency - Hamas responded to Ya’alon’s resignation and the expected appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as Israel’s Defense Minister. “We are not afraid of Lieberman’s threats,” stated senior-level Hamas official Fathi Hamad in a rally held in Gaza, in which photos of Netanyahu, Ya’alon and Lieberman were burned.
Hamas threatened with a severe response if Lieberman were to implement his past promises and “crush” Hamas’s leadership when he becomes Israel’s Defense Minister. In a Hamas rally held in Gaza, senior-level Hamas official Fathi Hamad stated that his people “are not afraid of the threats sent by Lieberman towards our political leaders.”
“Our face is not towards war, but we will fight Israel if necessary,” Hamad added, claiming that Hamas has “gotten used” to the change of Israeli Defense Ministers after every war with Gaza. During the rally, Hamas supporters set photos of Netanyahu, Ya’alon and Lieberman on fire.
In 2014, Lieberman threatened to eliminate Hamas’s leadership, and on several occasions claimed that Hamas’s rule in Gaza must brought down. In a speech given at a cultural event, Lieberman explained what he would have done to senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh: “I would give mister Haniyeh 48 hours – either you return the bodies and citizens or you’re dead. If it was up to me, you would order a place for yourself at the cemetery closest to you.”
In the past Lieberman has called for the renewal of targeted killings in Gaza, claiming that “all the heads of Hamas in Gaza receive immunity from Netanyahu and Ya’alon”. Lieberman also called for an extensive ground operation in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.
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