Palestinian minister: Revolt against Hamas

A Palestinian Cabinet minister issued an Islamic religious decree calling on Palestinians to revolt against Hamas in Gaza "to liberate Palestine and Jerusalem." Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Minister for Wakf Affairs, said on his Facebook page his fatwa (religious ruling) requires Hamas' control of Gaza end, The Jerusalem Post said. This can be done by either reconciling between Hamas and Fatah or revolting against the Islamist movement in Gaza, he wrote Wednesday. Muslims must "liberate Palestine and Jerusalem. This duty cannot be fulfilled without achieving unity. Hence it is a duty to unite. ... "Unity can't be achieved without ending the split [between Hamas and Fatah]. Hence it is a duty to end the split. But ending the split can't be achieved without ending Hamas' control over the Gaza Strip. Hence, it is a duty to end the Hamas control over the Gaza Strip." In an unrelated development, Mohamed Madani, head of the Palestinian Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, told Israeli parliamentarians at a meeting at the Knesset Wednesday an Israeli flag will fly when they next convene in Ramallah. "It is logical that since you put up a Palestinian flag when we came here that when you come to our Parliament, there will be an Israeli flag," he said. The last time a Palestinian flag was raised at the Knesset was in 1999 when former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg hosted his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qurei.