It’s an “Islamic area,” he says. No one listens. The single most important aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the one that is most often ignored: the role of Islamic doctrine in inciting hatred of Israel. Get the details in The Palestinian Delusion.
“Israel-Hamas ceasefire ‘will hold for now but no peace with Israel without justice for Palestinians’, Hamas co-founder says,” by Mark Stone, Sky News, May 24, 2021:
A senior Hamas leader has told Sky News the group’s current ceasefire should hold but warned there was no chance of making peace with Israel for the moment.
In a wide-ranging interview – the first he’s given to any broadcaster since the ceasefire was announced – Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas co-founder, denied the group fires rockets from civilian areas and said he would be willing to talk to US President Joe Biden.
Asked if the ceasefire would hold, he said: “Yes, I think the most important point is the degree of impact on both sides.”
“Ceasefire up to this moment is acceptable from our side and from the other side. For how long? I think nobody on both sides is looking for escalation more than what had been before. So I believe that it will continue.”…
“The new element here is the degree of the resistance movement, in particular in Gaza, to attack the Israeli targets and very important points, including most of the overcrowded areas… the civilian society. So for how long will the Israelis accept that?” he said.
The 76-year-old denied that Hamas fires rockets and missiles from within populated areas of Gaza despite multiple videos showing just that.
“No. No single rockets were sent from a civilian area. Most of the rockets were from the border… no single civilian area. You give me an example of how we are going to bring rockets and to put them on the roof (of buildings)?” he said.
“The area everybody knows was the most of important area for self-defence was on the border.”
Pressed on why the organisation he represents is intentionally hitting civilian areas of Israel, he said they were targeting “the occupation, not civilians”.
“This is not against Israeli communities, (it’s) against Israeli occupation. This is against Israeli aggression.”
Since its original charter in 1988, Hamas has shifted its rhetoric away from being a hard-line Islamist group which saw this conflict as a religious war against Jews.
In 2017 a revised charter essentially called for a two-state solution along the 1967 borders and it claimed that its conflict was no longer with Jews but with Zionism.
However Dr Zahar said the two-state process had been proved to be a failure because Israel doesn’t want it.
“Practically, practically, that was proved,” he said, arguing that the negotiations between Israel and the more moderate Fatah Palestinian faction in the West Bank had failed.
“It is not my assessment. Go and ask (Palestinian president) Mahmoud Abbas ‘are you now saying a two state solution is viable or not?’… He will say no… The Israelis are not going to accept a two-state solution.
“People went and they sat down at the table and signed an agreement and so on and failed. You are now asking me to practise a failed process?”
He refused to be drawn on hypotheticals over whether he would accept a two-state solution if a future Israeli government would do the same.
Asked if the State of Israel has the right to exist, he paused then said: “No. Why? You are coming from America and you take my house, you came from Britain and you took my brother’s house, you took this. This is a settlement.
“You are not a citizen. We are the owner of this area – Arabic area. This is well known as an Islamic area.”…
Infidel says
Same thing can be said by the Jews about the Arabs, who weren’t there in 600AD. Under Zahar’s definition, all Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are squatters
mortimer says
Yes, many were many Muslim squatters and border jumpers. There were 300,000 people in what is now Israel in the mid-1800s. In 1878, the Ottoman Empire artificially increased the number of Muslims in the region with Circassian and Algerian Muslims whom they brought in to outnumber the growing number of Jews. Under British administration it was estimated that many thousands of Muslims entered illegally as border jumpers when no one was looking. The British policy, though officially in favor of a Jewish homeland, in fact allowed much illegal immigration. When the Turkish owners were kicked out, the British administration ‘assumed’ ownership. There is no such thing as ‘PALESTINIAN OWNERSHIP’ or ‘MUSLIM OWNERSHIP’ grosso modo. The land was actually owned by the League of Nations and they bequeathed the land in trust to the Jewish homeland. At no time did the organizations of the Pallies accept the idea of a Jewish homeland recognized by the League of Nations and by its successor the United Nations. The illogic of the Pallies and their appeal to popular prejudices (‘It is well known that …’) do not prove that there was a transfer of ownership from the British administration to ‘Muslims’ in general.
Infidel says
I don’t know what your statute of limitations are, but mine are open-ended. If the Hamas claim about Israel being illegitimate is valid b’cos Arabs were there before, then Jewish claims about ‘Palestine’ being illegitimate is valid b’cos there were Jews before the Umayyads overran that area in the 6th century. On what grounds would a 6th century conquest be legit but a 19th century conquest be illegitimate?
mortimer says
Prior to the Zionist settlement of Israel, the landscape resembled the face of the moon and the population (except for coastal towns) was practically nil. The Arabs NEGLECTED the region until Jews made the desert bloom and made the interior habitable. Moreover, Arabs only came to live there from other Muslims regions because the Jews had created factories, farms and businesses that required laborers. Poor Arabs flocked to the opportunities.
At first after 1919, Arab leaders, seeing the prosperity and lush agriculture created by the Jews, were in favor of more Jewish settlement.
Once again, the Jewish settlers showed by their practicality, organization and skill how INFERIOR and BACKWARD the Arabs truly were.
Quazgaa says
To add a humble trivia note to your post, back in the 40’s, if you called an arab “palestinian” they would take offense with that.
In those times only jews were called palestinians.
Joan Petersen: “From Time Immemorial”.
Infidel says
Very true. Like I suggested elsewhere, maybe the Zionists should have named the new nation ‘Palestine’ instead of Israel
gravenimage says
Somehow I doubt that would have helped…
commonsense says
Much of the private land which became part of modern Israel was purchased from absentee Muslim landowners residing elsewhere, some far away. The Jewish Agency raised the necessary funds to make the purchases, often for far more than the real estate was actually worth in its neglected state.
gravenimage says
Yes–good point.
Emilie Green says
Palestinians revel in the proud story about the Muslim conquest but that leads to them twisting themselves into pretzels to explain — or rather, to explain away – how the Arab conquest doesn’t give legal justification for rival claims to the land. Posing as innocent victims, they see Israel as a Jewish “occupation,” conveniently forget that there is also another “occupation” — that of Arabs occupying the Jewish land. After all, for the sake of accuracy, if one is to speak of an “occupation,” one has to speak, of not one but two “occupations” superimposed over the very same piece of land. “Occupation of Palestine” is a plural, not singular, term.
from today’s American Thinker, https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/05/what_is_more_sad_than_the_occupation_the_need_for_it.html
mortimer says
Arabs didn’t like the Ottoman occupation very much either. The British created the impression among the Arab population that if they had enough babies and if they attacked the Jews enough, that the world would kick the Jews out and they could go back to running a corrupt, backward Sharia-Berzerkistan … just like the good, old days of the corrupt, dysfunctional Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan thinks that if he favors the Pallies, they will let him re-build the Ottoman Empire in the Levant. The Muslim countries are all lying to one another and most of them are heartily tired and sick of the Pallies. Most Arabs think of Jordan and modern Israel as parts of Southern Syria (Shams).
Infidel says
Like Hugh once said, muslim loyalties can never be bought, only rented. Best example is Kuwait, who’s far from our closest ally in the region
BlackSabbath says
Most of the middle east — primarily Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan will be part of greater Israel. And then they will flourish into a shining democracy and a phenomenal republic. Until that happens, all this iddy-biddy terrorist will extend their two hands and claim that they rule the universe.
RichardL says
still a good-looking, charming chap.
Diane Harvey says
He was an extra in the 1968 film. See if you can pick him out,
https://www.syfy.com/sites/syfy/files/styles/1200x680_hero/public/2020/05/planet-of-the-apes_0.jpg
mortimer says
Zahar wants examples of Pally launch sites in Gazan residential areas? Well, that would reveal some of the ways Israel and the US intelligence services knew where they were, wouldn’t it?
To re-use Zahar’s foolish phrase back at him, ‘IT IS WELL KNOWN’ by the intelligence services that the Pallies put their launch sites in residential areas, schools, hospitals and other CIVILAN and DOMESTIC locations.
Nice try, wise guy!
mortimer says
Oh, I left out that the Pallies espeically like to hide their weaponry in mosques.
Gee, what church or synagogue doesn’t have piles of rockets and bazookas in the basement? (sarc/off) I guess there must be a religious connection between storing weapons in mosques and particular ISLAMIC TEACHINGS.
But western politicians never seem to figure out what those particular religious teachings are, even after decades of being told EXACTLY what teachings motivate the JIHADISTS.
Western politicians are FACTOPHOBES when it comes to jihad.
commonsense says
Excellent posts in this thread. Thanks.
gravenimage says
Good posts, Mortimer.
Walter Sieruk says
The jihadists of Hamas base their anti-Jewish beliefs on the Qu ‘ran which reads the are Jews are “apes and pigs” 2:65. 7:166. 5:60. Likewise. Hamas jihadists base their murderous violence against the Jewish people by the violent and deadly instruction found in the Qu ‘ran, 2:191. 4:89. 5:33. 9:5. 111,112, 123. 47:4.
Furthermore, the very foundation of and for Islam is the Qu ‘ran ,this leads to very important question: “Is the Quran the Word of God or is it a fabrication of a man. Thus, is the Quran the truth or a fiction and a hoax ?”
The answer is clearly given on pages 145 through 157 in THE ISLAMIC INVASION by Robert Morey in which he wrote a section on the Qu ‘ran with its self-contradictions. Just two of the many he cited are the following “The Quran differs on whether a day is a thousand years or fifty thousand years in God’s sight’ and “Who was first to believe? Abraham or Moses [Sura 6:14 versus 7:143]?
The above is inconsistent and illogical. Further, Morey wrote about “The fact that Judaism and Christianity broke up into different sects was used in the Qu ‘ran to prove that they are not of God [Suras 30:20-32. 42:13, 14]. Yet Islam has broken up into many warring sects and therefore cannot be true if the Qu ‘ran is right.” Moreover, Morey in his book shows many more contradictions and absurdities in the Qu ‘ran, there are and how Muhammad incorporated extra Biblical and Jewish folklore along with pre-Islamic Arabian myth and parts of Zoroastrian and Hindu stories into the Qu ‘ran.
Moreover, the Muslims claim that “the Qu ‘ran is the direct, literal word of God unmodified in any way by the Prophet who uttered them at the bidding of God.” Nevertheless, in the book UNVEILING ISLAM by Ergun Mehmet Caner and Eethi Caner has shown that the Quran was modified in the following account on pages 45. “Muhammad felt the need to improve on the words of Allah, since he changed Allah’s wisdom for his own on several occasions. A hadith tells of the nonchalant emendations of Muhammad:’ On a number of occasions he [a scribe] had, with the Prophet’s consent changed the closing words of verses. For example, when the prophet had said ‘God is mighty and wise ‘ Adbollah b. Abi Sarh suggested writing down ‘Knowing and wise’ and the Prophet answered that there was no objection. Having observed a succession of changes of this type, Adbollah renounced Islam on the grounds that revelations, if from God could not be changed at the prompting of a scribe such as himself. After his apostasy he went to Mecca and joined the Qorayshites.”
Other writers reveal that later Muhammad and his people did go war with the Qorayshites and he personally killed Abdollah. Obviously Abdollah knew too much and Muhammad wanted Abdollah’s knowledge to die with him.”
In conclusion, the Qu ‘ran is not only a fiction also a hoax and therefore the entire foundation of Hamas is based on lies and falsehood of that bogus “holy book.”
Fred van de Bunt says
Blinken and Biden are going to give it a try now, also because Trump was wrong of course and because Biden promised the Palestinians beforehand already an enormous pile of taxpayers money.
Blinken demanded that the money should not end up in the hands of any Hamas member though, leaving only 2 Palestinians that are going to be very rich.
The rest of the Palestinian will naturally be very disappointed, so soon the whole misery will start again, like it goes on for 70 years already.
PRCS says
Neandertal appearance and thinking.
BlackSabbath says
Why are you insulting Neanderthal’s intelligence?
Keith O says
In a perverse way this piece of subhuman filth did not lie.
He said “no single rocket was fired from civilian areas”.
They were all multiple launches and Hamas considers every person under their dictatorship to be “soldiers of Islam”.
And, of course he’s lying to infidels, so that’s got approval from Allah.
commonsense says
Good observations!
tim gallagher says
This Hamas clown seems to have no idea of the way things change over time. He shows himself to be an idiot when he says that this area of the world is Arab forever, as though that is set in stone. Time changes things. That is what history is all about. Too bad Hamas, you’re out. History has moved on. As other commenters have pointed out, he is also a hypocrite. Muslims have invaded various parts of the world endlessly during the poisonous, violent history of Islam, so, if what this hypocrite claims were once Arab and are taken from the Arabs, I’d say, tough luck. Since Islam is such a load of barbaric garbage in so many different ways, I’d love to see islam disappear from humanity. It has been around for far too long and the whole damn ideology should become history.
gravenimage says
Hamas top dog: ‘We are the owner of this area – Arabic area. This is well known as an Islamic area.’
………………….
Drive out, forcibly convert, or murder everyone not Muslim–et voila! An “Islamic area”…
tim gallagher says
That’s Islam’s subtle method alright, there’s no doubt at all about that., gravenimage. And then like this Hamas character, they think they own the area in perpetuity. You say how much you hate islam quite often. I agree with you. The Muslim mentality is sickening and totally barbaric. Nothing but murderous invasions and endless bullying and thuggery, that’s the Muslim way.
gravenimage says
Thank you, Tim.
janwoG says
Palestine property of Islam, only since the Caliph Omar has stolen this land by Jihad.
OLD GUY says
This won’t end until Israel or the Muslims destroy one or the other. The islamic world will never accept the Jewish state or the Jewish people. This fight will go on forever until one side destroys the other.
gravenimage says
Israel is not trying to destroy Muslims–they just want to be able to live in peace.