Hamas fighters. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Hamas terrorist group praised North Korea on Sunday after the Pyongyang regime issued a threat against Israel earlier this weekend, the Hebrew news site Walla reported.

On Saturday, the North Korean Foreign Ministry vowed the country would “mercilessly punish those who offend the dignity of our leadership” — a reference to a recent statement made by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which he called North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un “extreme and crazy.”

“We warn Israel to think twice about the implications of its defamation campaign against us,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

North Korea also noted it was “fully supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people” to establish “an independent state with Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.”

On Sunday, Gaza-ruling Hamas — according to a Shams news agency report cited by Walla —  expressed its appreciation for North Korea’s words, stating, “Hamas condemns the Israeli insult to Pyongyang and emphasizes that the occupation is the leader of evil.”

Last week, Lieberman said a military conflict between North Korea and the US would have “direct implications” for Israel.

Against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Pyongyang and Washington and with the threat of further North Korean nuclear tests looming, Lieberman said, “Any nuclear crisis anywhere would affect the entire world. I don’t want to go into scenarios, but there is no such thing as a limited nuclear crisis.”

The defense minister’s comments on North Korea drew criticism from some within Israel, including his predecessor, Moshe Ya’alon, who accused Lieberman of “prattling irresponsibly.”

Meanwhile, Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar lashed out on Saturday against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as intra-Palestinian tensions continue to escalate.

“He is imposing himself on the Palestinian people,” al-Zahar said of Abbas, according to the Hebrew news site nrg. “He is not the president of the Palestinian people because he acts against their interests. He has lost his legitimacy to govern.”

Hamas MP Marwan Abu Ras tweeted this past week that Abbas “must be executed by hanging. He is the greatest traitor in Palestinian history.”