The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization will not hesitate to escalate the “intifada” if necessary, a senior official in the organization said Sunday.

The official, Khaled al-Batash, told the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Center for Communication website that the Palestinian organizations have agreed that the “Al-Quds Intifada”, as they refer to the current wave of terror, will maintain the characteristics of a “popular struggle”, but that should it become necessary to adopt other patterns of struggle, “we are ready for it.”

Batash referred to the intifada as “the knife revolution” and noted that knife and car ramming attacks prove that this is a “popular” intifada, and that if it continues for a period of one year it will achieve results in light of the price it has been extracting from the “enemy”.

He continued by saying that the way to escalate the intifada is through the participation of all Palestinian factions in the struggle and by the declaration of support by the Palestinian Authority, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for the steadfastness of the residents of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.

“There are no initiatives regarding a ceasefire [with Israel], and we stand alone in the battle,” said Batash. “I believe that all Palestinian parties should prepare for the next stage with the Zionist enemy, because we believe that the enemy will turn to targeted killing in Gaza and the West Bank as well as bomb Gaza.”

The Islamic Jihad’s comments join ones last week by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who called for an escalation in the “intifada” until the “forces of the occupation withdraw and go away”.

A senior member of the Islamic Jihad’s political bureau, Muhammad al-Hindi, recently expressed his support for the wave of terror and called to create a unified intifada leadership that will act to coordinate individuals, and will care for the families of “martyrs,” prisoners, and the owners of houses that are destroyed.