Some 300,000 Palestinians gathered in Gaza City on Sunday for a rally marking the 31st anniversary of the establishment of Hamas, the terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip.
Hamas fighters in military fatigues paraded with rockets and heavy machine guns during Sunday's rally. The group said the large turnout reflects Hamas' broad support, despite domestic and external challenges.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spoke at the rally and praised a series of recent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas' archrival.
He called these attacks, in which a number of Israelis were murdered, "a response to the Israeli occupation" and to the anticipated American peace proposal, which Palestinians fear will favor Israel.
Haniyeh also addressed the botched Nov. 11 Israeli operation in southern Gaza, in which an elite IDF officer was killed, saying Hamas has been able to get its hands on "a treasure trove of technological information that sheds light on the Israeli military's actions in Gaza."
"We know everything about the occupation army's operations, including every move its special forces made in Khan Yunis," he said, referring to the location of the deadly clash.
According to Haniyeh, this information includes the exact time, place and duration of the Israeli forces' operation in Gaza, as well as information about their tactics and the weapons and technology they used.
The Hamas leader also mocked former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who once publicly declared he would eliminate Haniyeh within 48 hours of becoming defense minister. Lieberman served as defense minister for two and a half years before resigning recently in protest of the government's policy on Hamas.
"The menacing Lieberman, who threatened Gaza and Beirut, has fallen because of the resistance's determination. Hamas is celebrating 31 years as Lieberman sits at home. Neither he nor [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu have a home on our land," Haniyeh said.
He also called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet in Gaza or Cairo to end the longtime internal Palestinian conflict, which erupted when Hamas usurped control of Gaza from Abbas' Fatah-led government in 2007 in a military coup.
