Coming Up Roses
Spiegel talks to Hamas founder Mahmoud Zahar, who lurches in and out of lucidity as he describes plans for an Islamic state and relations with Fatah and Israel:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: How would a Hamas-led Islamic state look?
Zahar: There would be no difference from how it looks today, because our customs and traditions in Gaza are already Islamic. Marriage, divorce, daily business — everything is Islamic. As soon as we have a state, then everyone will have their freedom. Christians will remain Christians, parties could be secular or even Communist.
Dhimmis and godless Communists line up on the left, please. All will be welcome in the Islamic paradise of Gaza!
We have all observed how Hamas brought Israel to its knees:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: At the moment there are no attacks on Israel by Hamas’ military wing. Is this a new doctrine?
Zahar: Yes, at the moment we have to deal with two enemies at the same time. Also, the Israelis have halted their aggression. That’s a direct result of our attacks on Sderot (in Israel) — the Israelis have suffered too much.
Hard to argue with this, though:
Zahar: What kind of peace process is it? There will only be lots of chit-chat.
And this is certainly true:
Zahar: Our people can’t distinguish between resistance and terrorism.
Though reading on you’ll see he doesn’t mean that in the way you and I might understand it.
Some discussion of how beloved Hamas is in the Arab world, and the ability of Hamas to keep itself and Gaza afloat by sneaking in suitcases full of cash. Then, a vision for the future:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What will improve for people in Gaza now that Hamas is in control?
Zahar: The good thing is that we can now collect information about our enemies and informants from foreign powers. We will look for Israel’s spies.
More roof-tossings for the grateful people of Gaza! Martyrdom belts all around in the West Bank!
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Last week there were street battles in the West Bank between Fatah and Hamas militias. Fatah maintained the upper hand. How will Hamas loyalists defend themselves in the event of any new fighting?
Zahar: Let me ask you: How have we defended ourselves so far against the Israeli occupation?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: With bombs and attacks?
Zahar: Exactly. But you said that, not me.
And the kicker:
Zahar: There are naturally very many weapons around now. Two years ago, one bullet in Gaza cost around €3.50 — now it would cost 35 cents. The American aid money has been translated into weapons. Thank you, America!
Thanks, Becks, don’t know how I missed that. They appear to be using the bullets mainly on each other, so in that sense it may be a highly effective use of taxpayer dollars. Except that Katyusha and martyrdom belt prices are probably also down as a result.
Meanwhile, here’s Abbas at MEMRI:
“There can be no dialogue with these murderers and putschists, and in our entire history, I cannot think of another force or group [of Palestinians] who murdered their own people, [looted] homes and property, and desecrated our national symbols, like the putschists in Gaza have done during this black week. To what end did they do this, and in the name of what religion? [It cannot have been] in the name of religion, for religion has nothing to do with acts such as these. Islam calls for tolerance and liberty. This is not Islam; it is alien to [the spirit of] Islam… The only purpose of the coup was to realize the sick and reckless fantasy of establishing an emirate of darkness and backwardness that will control, with fire and with an iron [fist], the lives, opinions and future of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza…
As opposed to murdering other people and desiring to loot their homes. Or murdering and bullying their own people and looting their exchequer. Say what you will about Hamas, they’ve always been relatively honest about their sick and reckless fantasies of establishing an emirate of darkness and backwardness.
Gateway: Iran’s role in the Hamas takeover of Gaza
Topics: Palestinians
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:52 am Comments (2) on Sunday, June 24, 2007
2 Responses to “Coming Up Roses”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Zahar: There are naturally very many weapons around now. Two years ago, one bullet in Gaza cost around €3.50 — now it would cost 35 cents. The American aid money has been translated into weapons. Thank you, America!
Our tax dollars at work.
June 25th, 2007 at 2:47 am
Oh yes, let’s dialogue with these people. They can be reasoned with. And if they can’t, we’ll just send them more aid.
Thank you Mr. Bush. I’m so glad that you put an end to dealing with terrorists.