Abbas made the comments in light of an imminent Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of toppling Hamas. In recent days there have been signs that the movement is losing support in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Gaza Strip residents followed Israel’s request to leave the northern Gaza Strip. According to data from the Israeli army, 600,000 Palestinians have already fled to the south.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades and has repeatedly drawn Israel into wars. A week ago, Hamas fighters managed to penetrate Israeli territory for the first time. In an unprecedented campaign of terror, they killed around 1,400 Israelis and around 160 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. The barbaric acts led to a wave of solidarity with Israel, but there were also pro-Palestinian demonstrations in numerous countries – including Austria – in which slogans of annihilation were also shouted against Israel.
While the PLO presented the prospect of a peace solution with Israel in the 1990s, as a result of which an autonomous administration was established in the Palestinian territories, Hamas took up the cause of the destruction of the Jewish state. The radical Islamic movement is supported by Iran, which is also an ally of the Shiite militia Hezbollah, which dominates Lebanon.