A senior Hamas leader called on Tuesday for a popular uprising by Palestinians over Israel's decision to include West Bank religious shrines in a list of national heritage sites.
Ismail Haniyeh was reacting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on Sunday that Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron would be added to the Jewish state's heritage list.
Palestinians believe the move will limit their access to the holy sites. Israeli officials deny this. A three-day strike began by Palestinian workers began in Bethlehem on Tuesday in protest at the decision.
Rachel, a biblical matriarch sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, is believed to be buried near the entrance to Bethlehem. The Tomb of the Patriarchs, where according to the Bible Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were laid to rest, is known to Muslims as the al-Ibrahimi mosque.
"Let the people rise up against the Israeli occupation...in response to this decision," Haniyeh told journalists.
Haniyeh became Palestinian National Authority after the 2006 Palestinian elections, but was dismissed by President Mahmoud Abbas during a conflict between the pro-presidential Fatah movement and Hamas.
Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, while Fatah rules the West Bank.
Abbas told the Belgian parliament on Tuesday that the Israeli decision could spark "war of religions" in the region.
GAZA STRIP, February 23 (RIA Novosti)
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