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 Hamas leader calls for holy war "Israel Must Disappear from the Map" An Interview with Ahmed Yassin on Islam-Online |
Hamas leader calls for holy war (19.2.02)
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The spiritual leader of the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas called on Muslims around the world to launch a jihad - a holy war - to liberate their countries from U.S. influence.
Sheik Ahmed Yassin made the comments in a letter published ahead of this month's Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, which commemorates God's provision of a ram to substitute for Abraham's sacrifice of his son.
"Sons of Islam everywhere, the jihad is a duty - to establish the rule of Allah on earth and to liberate your countries and yourselves from America's domination and its Zionist allies, it is your battle - either victory or martyrdom," Yassin said in the letter.
However, a Hamas spokesman said the militant group would confine its own activities to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
"Hamas' battle is against the Zionist occupation in the Palestinian land. Hamas has no desire to change its battlefield. Resistance in Palestine will continue until the final liberation of all the Palestinian lands," said the spokesman, Mahmoud Zahar.
Yassin, who is paraplegic and rarely leaves his home in Gaza City, castigated the Arab world and accused its leaders of abandoning the Palestinian cause.
"Where are the Muslim people's sponsors? Where are its kings? Where are its leaders? The Muslim people is calling upon you, Jerusalem is appealing to you, will anyone answer?" Yassin said in the letter.
Hamas has been responsible for a string of suicide bombings that has killed dozens of Israelis in the past 16 months. The bombers are revered as martyrs of the Palestinian uprising which erupted in Sept. 2000. Yassin and other Muslim clerics have propagated the belief that whoever dies for their religion is rewarded in paradise.
Yassin attacked the U.S. for its campaign in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, calling the war "a terrorist offensive against the Muslim people in Afghanistan and Islamic resistance movements everywhere."
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat placed Yassin under house arrest as part of a crackdown on militants in December. After the collapse of a cease-fire declared by Arafat in mid-December, the Palestinian Authority has quietly allowed Yassin and other high-profile Hamas officials who had gone into hiding to make public statements and appear at rallies.
Yassin said Palestinians would continue their uprising, despite the deteriorating living conditions of many.
"We must prepare ourselves for a lengthy battle because this century is the century of Islam, the century of liberation, the century of victory and sovereignty, by Allah's will all those oppressive regimes will diminish and with our determination and sacrifices we will be the coming power," he said.
Reuters reports (18 October) on an interview with Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin by Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. "Israel, as the Jewish state, must disappear from the map," said Yassin. While Yassin condemned the killing of women, children and the elderly as a violation of Islamic law, he justified suicide terrorist bombings against Israel. Scores of Israelis have been killed in terror attacks launched by Hamas -- including women, children and the elderly. Hamas might stop its attacks "only if Israel withdraws from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, evacuates the settlers, frees all the prisoners and avoids involvement in Palestinian affairs," said Yassin -- and even then, Yassin would only "consider a temporary armistice," he said. Israel released Yassin from prison on October 1 after he had served eight years of a life sentence for terrorist activities. He was released as part of a prisoner swap with Jordan after Israeli agents bungled an attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Amman.
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An Interview with Ahmed Yassin on Islam-Online
Ahmed Yassin Held An Internet Conversation at the Website "Islam Online" on 1 April, 2001, With Several Participants. The Following is an Excerpt From the Chat.
Question: Do you believe that it is best to check the precise timing and location to detonate "Human Bombs" in order to cause the maximum number of people among Jewish enemy, military men and civilians, and for what reason are you not drafting "Human Bombs" from among the Israeli Arab population?
Answer: Indeed it is best to check the exact timing and location in order to cause a maximum number of soldiers and civilians of the Zionist enemy, which is how our warrior brothers in the Az Adin Alkasam have been acting. However there is a difference between theoretical talk and actual operation because there are objective and self-restrictions that determine in many cases the timing and location. In regard to the drafting of "Human Bombs" from the 1948 Arabs, it has been considered. We have done this in the past and we will do this in the future, despite the pressures and psychological and social warfare waged against them, in order to prevent them from entering the Jihad and resistance arena.
Question: How do you assess the experience of the Hizballah and can a similar experience be put into action in conquered Palestinine?
Answer: In the past there was a difference between the conditions in which Hizballah operated in Lebanon and the conditions of resistance operated in Palestine. As opposed to the situation in Lebanon, the Palestinian authority operated against the resistance while Hizballah won general support. Today, after we have entered the Al-Asqa Intifada, the situation is much improved. The resistance is legitimate and the Authority shuts its eyes and does not pursue the fighters. However, the resources at our people's disposal are very few and we require assistance from the neighboring Arab countries, and for weapons in order to fight the enemy.
Question: What are the priorities of the Hamas in this current situation and what is required of the individual man or woman, when all wish to participate in the Intifada?
Answer: Our priorities require that all children of Palestine, men and women, be ready for conflict, both from the standpoint of training and from the standpoint of armament. They must also be ready to assist the warriors in the arena of battle. The current stage does not allow the entrance of everyone into a military conflict, however everyone must be ready for the day in which it might take place, as the Zionist enemy is planning to attack our people and to control our land once again.
Question: When will the Hamas operate in order to harm Zionist interests outside of Israel while taking advantage of thousands of trained and loyal Muslims around the world?
Answer: The Hamas has taken the path of avoiding causing harm to Zionist interests outside of Palestine, not from weakness or lack of ability to do so, but because Hamas does not wish for further fronts to be opened against it around the world. A country with such internal interests harmed, will not allow damage to its security and stability, and will fight us. We do not want that. We wish that all countries around the world honor our wishes and our Jihad, and we avoid interfering in their business. Our Jihad will remain on Palestinian soil that is wide and large. History has proven that the PLO and its sectors suffered great damage when walking the way of harming Zionist interests in other countries around the world.
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 IDF Spokesman |
