"In recent meetings, Iranian leaders urged Hamas to reconcile with
Jihad," a Palestinian source said.
On Feb. 28, Jihad was allowed to stage a mass rally in Gaza City.
Thousands of Jihad supporters called on the Hamas regime to intensify
attacks on neighboring Israel.
"It [Israel] only understands the language of force," Jihad leader
Mohammed Al Hindi said.
The rally was meant to protest an Israeli government decision to restore
the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem. Muslims
claim both sites as theirs exclusively, and the Palestinian Authority has
been encouraging protests throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem.
"The entity, called Israel, cannot intimidate our people and our
resistance through aggression," Al Hindi said.
The sources said Jihad has agreed to coordinate with Hamas operations
against Israel. They said the attacks would not include missile and rocket
strikes, but focus on improvised explosive devices and light weapons fire
toward the Israeli border.
Hamas and Jihad were also expected to coordinate in activities against
the PA in the West Bank. The sources said this could include joint
operations against Israeli civilians and soldiers as well as developing
military cells that could undermine the rule of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"We call on them [PA] to halt any direct or indirect talks with the
occupation and to unleash the Palestinian resistance to protect our land and
holy sites," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.
