Mahmoud al-Habbash. Photo: Facebook.

JNS.org – Mahmoud al-Habbash, a senior adviser to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, suggested that Hamas should admit defeat in its latest conflict with Israel.

In a post on his Facebook page, al-Habbash, who recently served as the PA’s minister for religious affairs, compared the Gaza war with one fought between the Prophet Mohammed and “polytheists” in 625 CE in Medina, a conflict widely considered by Muslims to be a defeat for the prophet.

“The Muslims admitted their defeat [in Medina],” al-Habbash, who defected from Hamas several years ago, said in a message meant to encourage Hamas to do the same, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Despite heavy causalities and widespread destruction of their command centers and rocket arsenals, Hamas leaders declared “victory” shortly after a cease-fire was announced with Israel on Tuesday.

In his first remarks to the press following the cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Hamas suffered the “greatest blow since the organization’s founding.”