Hamas rebuffs leader’s call for worldwide attacks on Jews

GAZA, Palestinian Territory – The militant Hamas group is distancing itself from a leader who called for the slaughter of Jews worldwide.

In a statement Monday, the Islamic movement said recent remarks by Fathi Hammad, a member of its politburo, “don’t represent the movement’s official positions.”

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, said Hammad’s remarks conflicted with its amended charter that restricted Hamas’s conflict to the Israeli occupation, “not the Jews or their religion,” according to the rare statement.

Speaking to demonstrators in Gaza on Friday, Hammad called for attacks on “every Jew on the globe.”

The United States and European Union list Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The group’s original 1988 charter called for “struggle against the Jews.” But in 2017, Hamas issued a new version without mentioning the Jewish people, saying their struggle was against Israel.