A top Hamas scholar threatened US President Donald Trump Monday, saying that if his administration attempts to disarm the terrorist group controlling the Gaza Strip, or any other of the Palestinian factions, "We will kill you."
In a sermon delivered on the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas Cleric Iyad Abu Funun challenges Trump, saying, "You want us to hand over our weapons? He said that he wanted to disarm the resistance in Palestine. Come over and do it! Come over and take away our weapons! You can come over and try to take away our guns if you want – we will kill you, give you a lesson in manliness and heroism."
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"The guns of the Palestinian people will break Trump's nose" and "teach him that the Palestinians are alive on their land," Funun stated.
Trump, he said, "will not control the Palestinian people's destiny."
"You want us to hand over our weapons [after] Allah [has] bestowed upon us the capability to manufacture drones and missiles that hit Tel Aviv and Haifa? Come and take them, so we can give you a lesson in manliness and heroism! We will take your life before you can take a single gun away from us," he said.
According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, the sermon, given on Feb. 6, focused mainly on the US's Middle East peace plan, introduced on Jan 28. 2020.
Titled "Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People," the plan envisions the creation of a Palestinian state on about 70% of the West Bank, a handful of neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and a small area in southern Israel.
However, according to the plan, a US endorsement of a Palestinian state is contingent on them recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, disarming Hamas and other terrorist groups in the coastal enclave, and meeting a host of other conditions, such as demonstrating proper governance and upholding international standards of human and civil rights.
The plan also allows Israel to apply its sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the large settlements blocs in Judea and Samaria and bars Palestinian refugees from settling in Israel.
The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza have rejected the plan outright, saying it was grossly biased is Israel's favor.
JNS.org. contributed to this report
