Gaza victims describe being used as human shields by Hamas
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 29, 2009
Members of a Gaza family whose farm was turned into a "fortress" by Hamas fighters have reported that they were helpless to stop Hamas from using them as human shields. They told the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper that for years Hamas has used their property and homes for military installations from which to launch rockets into Israel, dig tunnels and store arms. According to the victims, those who tried to object were shot in the legs by Hamas.
The following are excerpts from the article from the official Palestinian Authority daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:
"The Abd Rabbo family kept quiet while Hamas fighters turned their farm in the Gaza strip into a fortress. Right now they are waiting for the aid promised by the [Hamas] movement after Israel bombed the farm and turned it into ruins...
The hill on which the Abd Rabbo family lives overlooks the Israeli town Sderot, a fact that turned it into an ideal military position for the Palestinian fighters, from which they have launched hundreds of rockets into southern Israel during the last few years. Several of the Abd Rabbo family members described how the fighters dug tunnels under their houses, stored arms in the fields and launched rockets from the yard of their farm during the nights.
The Abd Rabbo family members emphasize that they are not [Hamas] activists and that they are still loyal to the Fatah movement, but that they were unable to prevent the armed squads from entering their neighborhood at night. One family member, Hadi (age 22) said: "You can't say anything to the resistance [fighters], or they will accuse you of collaborating [with Israel] and shoot you in the legs."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 27, 2009]
Hamas children's propaganda film
reinforces illusion of war victory
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 19, 2009
On the first day of its ceasefire with Israel, Hamas has added a new element to its propaganda campaign claiming that it won the war in Gaza. An animated film for children on Hamas TV depicts Israeli soldiers as cowards who are afraid to enter Gaza. They cry, "Mommy, Mommy," as they head into battle, where they are all killed by Hamas gunfire.
The video ends with an Israeli soldier's blood splattered on the screen, accompanied by a caption that reads, "Whoever dares, let him come! Gaza is his certain death."
Observers have reported that hundreds of Hamas fighters were killed in the conflict, while Israel lost 10 soldiers in combat and three civilians in rocket attacks. However, in the attempt to present this war as a victory, Hamas TV reported today that Hamas lost only 48 fighters and killed 80 Israelis, including 49 soldiers.
This film aims to reinforce the victory myth that Hamas is trying to sell to its people.
Hamas gangs kill Fatah members in Gaza
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 18, 2009
Hamas has murdered "dozens of Fatah members" in the Gaza Strip for merely violating the Hamas-imposed house arrest. According to the Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida the atrocities, which also included shooting people in the legs, has created a backlash in the West Bank and caused "anger, which influenced the level of popular activities carried out in solidarity with the Gaza residents in the towns Ramallah and El-Bira."
In addition, the popular Palestinian singer, Jamal Najar, condemned Hamas as "gangs of anarchic security forces," describing how Hamas murdered his cousin right in front of his children for simply stepping outside. [PA TV (Fatah)]
The following are excerpts from the article in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and the transcript of the words of Jamal Najar:
Headline: "Reports of persecutions and liquidation of Fatah members by Hamas members evoke anxiety and condemnation in the West Bank."
Reports mentioning liquidations of Fatah members in the Gaza Strip by members of Hamas evoked popular condemnation which was added yesterday to the erupting anger, which influenced the level of popular activities carried out in solidarity with the Gaza residents in the towns Ramallah and El-Bira.
The reports from Gaza pointed out the death of dozens of Fatah members caused by Hamas members. A prominent leader stated that isolated random incidents of murder have occurred, but ruled out that this is a case of organized persecution.
Wafa A-Najar, Gaza resident who lives in the town El-Bira, said that her father was killed the day before yesterday and nine of her family members were injured by shooting by Hamas, among them were three small children and two young people in critical condition...
According to the family's story, a squad belonging to Hamas came to her family's house in [the] Sheikh Radwan [neighborhood] in Gaza and shot at the legs of young Badran A-Najar, claiming that he was violating the house arrest which was imposed on him, at the time when he was sitting with his cousins in front of the house...
A prominent leader in the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, Ibrahim Abu A-Naja, ruled out that this is a case of persecution by some organization, which aims at Fatah, however he pointed out that "a number of isolated incidents [of murder]" had occurred, as has been reported by the Israeli media...
Abu A-Naja called for Hamas to halt any step which provides Israel the opportunity to attack us...
Groups within the Fatah movement in the West Bank estimated that more than a hundred of its people in the Gaza Strip had been exposed to persecution, shooting, and liquidation."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Jan. 9, 2009]
Jamal Najar, popular Palestinian singer:
"I express my condolences to my cousins, some of them were killed yesterday by the gangs of the anarchic [Hamas] security forces in the Gaza Strip... The father was killed right in front of his children, because he didn't stay at home, after they placed him under house arrest, he and everyone who belongs to Fatah."
[PA TV (Fatah) Jan. 6, 2009]
Slain Hamas leader was outspoken force
behind Shalit kidnapping
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 16, 2009
Introduction:
Hamas Interior Minister Said Siam, who was killed today by Israeli forces, was one of the Hamas leaders who publicly promoted the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers in order to hold them hostage and exchange them for Palestinian prisoners. Siam's plan was put into action when Hamas kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006. Shalit is still being held hostage in Gaza.
The following is the statement by Siam before the Shalit kidnapping, detailing his program for Hamas to kidnap Israeli soldiers and hold them as hostages.
Said Siam, Hamas Interior Minister
"In the past Hamas succeeded in kidnapping many Zionist soldiers.
There are thousands of prisoners of our forces, they have to think how to free these prisoners. And I believe that it is inevitable to kidnap soldiers to exchange for them.
In the past Hamas kidnapped 10 soldiers.
There is nothing the resistance cannot do. And when there is a goal and a good plan, the goal can be achieved, especially about the prisoner issue, [which] is top priority.
During the PA administration, Hamas succeeded in kidnapping and hiding bodies, but unfortunately, two bodies were handed over for nothing. When there is a kidnapping, and it is secured, each case in its own time has its own negotiations."
[Undated video clip from Abu Dhabi TV - before Hamas came into power]
Hamas using children in combat support roles
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 13, 2009
A child in Gaza describes how he and other children are being used in combat support roles for Hamas fighters. According to the Palestinian child, children are being used as scouts to follow Israeli movements, and as couriers to supply ammunition and deliver information to the Hamas fighters.
The following is the description of the children's combat support roles, quoted in an Israeli Arab weekly:
"[The newspaper] Kul Al-Arab called many Gaza Strip residents, to comprehend the situation of the people who are suffering for two weeks from the wild Israeli aggression...
Khaled, from A-Rimal [in Gaza], said: 'We the children, in small groups and in civilian clothes, are fulfilling missions of support for the [Hamas] Resistance fighters, by transmitting messages about the movements of the enemy forces, or by bringing them ammunition and food. We ourselves are not aware of the movements of the Resistance fighters. We see them in one place, they suddenly disappear, and then reappear somewhere else. They are like ghosts, it is very hard to find them or hurt them.'"
[Kul-Al-Arab (Israeli Arab weekly), January 9, 2009]
Saudi scholar on Hamas TV:
Jews are the enemies of Allah
and should be killed
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 12, 2009
"Jews are the enemies of Allah," and therefore by definition are the enemies of all Muslims. This opinion is expressed by Dr. Walid Al-Rashudi, head of the Department of Islamic Studies at Saud University in Saudi Arabia, in a speech broadcast last week on Hamas TV. The religious scholar also prays for the extermination of all Jews: "Kill them one by one and don't leave even one." Hamas leaders have expressed on numerous occasions the belief that all Jews should be exterminated. (Click to see PMW bulletin.)
The religious scholar likewise expresses rage at the Muslim countries who are allied with the West, calling them "traitors...
who believe in America," instead of in Allah.
Palestinians from both Hamas and Fatah, along with much of the Islamic world, present the Arab conflict with Israel as a conflict of Islam against Jews, completely rejecting the territorial aspect and calling it a religious conflict. Many also define the conflict in a broader perspective - as a global religious conflict between Muslims and non-Muslim countries - and condemn as traitors moderate Arab countries that ally with America.
The following are statements from Dr. Walid Al-Rashudi's speech:
"You don't treat the Jews as enemies only because they are human beings who eat and drink. No! We treat them as enemies because they are the enemies of Allah and the prophets, they murdered the prophets, distorted the prophecy, they are traitors and deceivers - therefore we treat them as enemies."
"We are a [Muslim] nation who believes in the Hidden, and you [Muslim] traitors don't believe. We believe in the Almighty Allah and you [Muslim traitors] believe in America and Israel. We believe that Allah, may He be Exalted, sent His soldiers against America in many places in the world."
"Oh Allah, inflict as many losses as possible on the Jews, kill them one by one and don't leave even one."
[Hamas TV, Jan. 8, 2009]
PMW's Background Brief on Hamas #2:
Bombs are "more precious" than children:
Hamas children's education
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 11, 2009
IMAGINE A MUSIC VIDEO teaching kids that bombs are more precious than children. This is not fantasy - this is the message of an actual Hamas TV music video. After a five-year-old finds out that her mother wore a bomb belt to a suicide terror attack, she sings: "Now I know what was more precious than us." She then swears to follow in her mother's footsteps, as a suicide bomber.
This is just one example of the wide range of hateful and abusive messages on Hamas TV, designed to indoctrinate children to Hamas values. Children are taught to value violence, hatred and Islamic supremacy, and that seeking Martyrdom for Allah is the highest value, bringing "honor and glory."
PMW has created a five-minute compilation of key representative segments from Hamas TV that document this indoctrination of children.
In addition to the video featuring the daughter of a suicide bomber, this collection includes a music video depicting a boy's transition from childhood to adulthood, climaxing in his heroic Martyrdom death; a puppet show promising world Islamic supremacy, death of infidels and the conversion of the White House into a mosque; and a talk show segment featuring kindergarten kids marching in military formation, brandishing weapons and calling for Jihad and Martyrdom.
Also included are statements by Hillary Clinton from her news conference with PMW in the US Senate, where she criticized Palestinian schoolbooks and television that "profoundly poison the minds of these children."
Extermination of Jews
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 4, 2009
TO UNDERSTAND the causes of the Gaza conflict, it is essential to understand the Hamas ideology. Hamas presents itself as an Islamic supremacist movement. Its charter opens with a quote from the Quran: "You [Islamic nation] are the best nation that hath been raised up unto mankind." [3: 110] However, whereas many religions and cultures believe that their own traditions represent messages of truth, Hamas believes that this supremacy of Islam obligates them to commit genocide, literally to exterminate millions of people who have different beliefs, including the Jews.
The following are some recent examples of Hamas defining this ideology of genocide, as it applies to Jews: 1- Quran condemns Jews to extermination
"The Meccan [Quran] chapter entitled 'Jews' or 'Children of Israel' is remarkable... It's about today's Jews, those of our century, and speaks only of extermination and digging graves... This chapter sentences the Jews to extermination before a single Jew existed on earth... Palestine's blessing is linked to destruction of the center of global corruption [Jews of Israel], the snake's head. When the snake's head of [global] corruption is cut off, here in Palestine, and when the octopus's [Jew's] tentacles are cut off around the world, the real blessing will come with the destruction of the Jews, here in Palestine, and it is one of the splendid real blessings in Palestine." [Palestinian cleric ,Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 13, 2008]
2- Jews to face yet another Holocaust
Headline: "Suffering by Fire is Jews' destiny in this world and next."
"... you will taste the punishment of Scorching Fire." [Quran 3:181]
"This [Quran] verse threatens the Jews with the punishment of Fire... the reason for the punishment of Fire is it is fitting retribution for what they have done... but the urgent question is, is it possible that they will have the punishment of Fire in this world, before the great punishment [of Fire in Hell] ... many of the [Islamic] religious leaders believe that the [Jews'] punishment of Fire is in this world, before the next world... therefore we are sure that the Holocaust is still to come upon the Jews." [Sheikh Yunus Al-Astal, Hamas MP, in his regular column in Al-Rissala, (Hamas weekly) March 13, 2008]
It is important to note that the Hamas MP switched words in the last sentence, from the word he used throughout, "harik", which means "fire", to "mahraka" a word from the same root, that is used by Arabic speakers to mean "holocaust."
3 - Muhammad's promise: Jews will be killed
"Regarding the Jews, our business with them is only through bombs and guns... the prophet [Muhammad] promised that we will fight you, with Allah's help, until the tree and stone say: "Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."
[Nizar Rayan, Hamas religious and military leader, Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Jan. 1, 2009. Note: Rayan was killed on Jan. 2, 2009]
4 - Extermination of Jews - good for humanity
In an article promoting the continued use of suicide terror in the official Hamas newspaper:
"We find more than one condemnation and denunciation of the resistance operations and bombings [suicide attacks], carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian resistance branches... [Eventually] everyone will know that we did this only because our Lord commanded so: 'I did it not of my own accord' [Quran] and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the worlds."
[Al-Rissala, (Hamas weekly) April 23, 2007] 5- Kill a Jew go to Heaven
A poster that Hamas posted on its old web site taught that killing a Jew is enough to grant the rewards of Heaven.
Text on Hamas poster: "I will knock on Heaven's doors with the skulls of Jews."
Axe is crashing through the word: "Jews."
[URL on poster, Hamas terror wing: "Ezz Din Al Kassam"]
6- Resurrection dependent on Muslims killing Jews (1)
Hamas goes even further in its religious packaging of genocide. Hamas teaches that the redemption of all of humanity, the anticipated Islamic "Hour" of Resurrection, will happen only when Muslims are killing Jews and the remaining Jews will be exposed by the trees and stones.
Hamas write in Article 7 of the Hamas Charter:
"Hamas has been looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take. The prophet [Muhammad] said: 'The time (of Resurrection) will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: 0 Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him!'"
[Sahih Muslim, Book 041, Number 6985]
7- Resurrection dependent on Muslims killing Jews (2)
The Hamas belief that Jews must be killed for redemption to occur is a repeating theme of religious leaders on Palestinian Authority (Fatah) and Hamas TV. The following is one example:
"'The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: 'Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!' We must remind our Arab and Muslim nation, its leaders and people, its scholars and students, remind them that Palestine and the Al Aqsa mosque will not be liberated through summits nor by international resolutions, but it will be liberated through the rifle."
[Hamas Spokesman, Dr. Ismail Radwan, PA TV, March 30, 2007] Conclusion:
Given this Hamas ideology of genocide, the essential problem with Hamas is not the missiles and rockets it showers on Israel, but the core belief that killing Jews is a prerequisite to redemption. Hamas's ongoing attempts to kill Jews, which have led to the current Gaza War, are a symptom of the far deeper problem -- the ideology teaching that Allah demands the extermination of Jews.
Israel and the West must create a strategy not only to destroy the terror infrastructures of Hamas, but to ultimately ensure that Jews and the world are safe from this ideology and its consequences.
This is the first of a series of
PMW background briefings on Hamas ideology.
Iranian reformist daily:
Hamas hiding forces in nurseries and hospitals
by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Jan. 1, 2009
An Iranian reformist daily newspaper has criticized Hamas "for risking lives of civilians, amongst them children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals." This is reported in today's Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam. The Palestinian daily adds that in response the Iranian government has closed the newspaper.
The following is the story in today's Al-Ayyam:
Headline: "Iran closes a reformist newspaper, for publishing a report criticizing Hamas"
"The Iranian news agency "Irna" reported yesterday, that the Iranian Culture Ministry has closed the reformist daily newspaper "Karjo Zaran", because it published a report that included criticism of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
On December 30 the paper published a statement of a reformist student organization, that has criticized Hamas for risking lives of civilians, amongst them children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals. The statement was published whilst the Iranian government expresses a unified stands against Israel, and Tehran is overwhelmed by demonstrations against Israel."
[Al-Ayyam, Jan. 1, 2009]
A
Palestinian girl whose family members were
killed yesterday in Gaza:
"I say Hamas is the cause of all wars."
by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Dec. 29, 2008
A Palestinian girl whose
family members was killed yesterday in Gaza
after an Israeli air attack was interviewed
today on Palestinian TV and placed the blame
for the war on Hamas:
[Girl] "We were sleeping
7 girls in the room. We were asleep and didn't
know what was happening. In the morning all
the bricks were on top of my head, and the
heads of all my sisters. My 4 year old sister
next to me was dead."
[Interviewer] "How
many were you?"
[Girl] "Seven.In the
other room were my mother, my father, my yonger
brother and another sister, who is 13 days
old. I say, Hamas is the cause, in the first
place, of all wars."
[PATV (Fatah) Dec. 29, 2008]
PMW
archives:
Hamas explains using civilians as human shields:
"We desire death as you desire life."
[Feb. 29, 2008]
by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Dec. 29, 2008
The UN announcement that
51 civilians have died in the conflict in
Gaza must be understood in the context of
Hamas's declared ideology to use civilians
as human shields for Hamas fighters.
Indeed, Hamas continues to emphasize and promote
the religious ideology that death for Allah
is an ideal to be actively pursued. The goal
is to convince Palestinians, including women
and children, not to fear death but even to
face it at the front to protect Hamas fighters.
Hamas's placement of its military installations
and fighters among civilians reflects this
ideology, and has led to these 51 deaths.
A Hamas representative in the PA legislative
council this year expressed pride in the fact
that women and children are used as human
shields in fighting Israel. He described it
as part of a "death industry" at
which Palestinians excel, and explained that
the Palestinians "desire death"
with the same intensity that Israelis "desire
life."
The following is the full text of the comments
by Hamas representative Fathi Hamad:
"For the Palestinian people death became
an industry, at which women excel and so do
all people on this land: the elderly excel,
the Jihad fighters excel, and the children
excel. Accordingly [Palestinians] created
a human shield of women, children, the elderly
and the Jihad fighters against the Zionist
bombing machine, as if they were saying to
the Zionist enemy: We desire death as you
desire life."
To download the clip in
high quality to your computer contact our
office.
Mahmoud Abbas: Hamas responsible for violence
by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Dec. 28, 2008
In a news conference today from Cairo, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas placed the blame for the violence in the Gaza Strip squarely on the shoulders of Hamas. He described how he repeatedly made contact with Hamas and implored them not to break the ceasefire. He lamented that the violence in the Gaza Strip could have been avoided had Hamas not broken the ceasefire.
The following is Mahmoud Abbas's statement at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit.
"I say in all honesty, we made contact with leaders of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. We spoke with them in all honesty and directly, and after that we spoke with them indirectly, through more than one Arab and non-Arab side... We spoke with them on the telephone and we said to them: We ask of you, don't stop the ceasefire, the ceasefire must continue and not stop, in order to avoid what has happened, and if only we had avoided it."
PA TV Dec. 28, 2008
Hamas celebrates targeting Israeli civilians by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Dec. 28, 2008
Along with today's TV propaganda in which Hamas depicts itself as a victim, Hamas continues to portray itself as the heroic killer of Israelis.
A video on Hamas TV this morning blended pictures of Hamas fighters shooting at Israel with pictures of injured Israelis and medical evacuation scenes.
In addition, the visuals include pictures of skulls dripping with blood, captioned: "Let them taste violent death".
Other narrations and texts include:
"Send them to Hell! Tear them to pieces!"
"Send them to Hell, Qassam missile!"
Hamas TV: Ahmadinejad threatens Israel over Gaza events
by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Dec. 28, 2008
Hamas TV reported that Iranian President Ahmadinejad threatened Israel in response to Israel's attack on Hamas.
The Hamas TV news ticker reported numerous times:
"The President of Iran [Ahmadinejad]: These crimes will not change the Zionist entity's condition. Rather, its situation will be even blacker and its fate even worse."
Iran's support of the Hamas is not surprising as Hamas is a major supplier of weapons for Hamas and Hamas military units have undergone training in Iran.
Hamas TV, Dec. 28, 2008
Hamas TV: 180 killed are from Hamas armed forces
Among those killed Hamas Police Commander, Tawfik Jaber
by Itamar
Marcus and Barbara Crook, Dec. 28, 2008
Hamas TV acknowledged this morning that the vast majority of those killed are from the Hamas military. A news ticker running repeatedly from 10:00 AM announced:
"More than 180 Palestinian policemen were killed including the [Police] Commander, General Tawfik Jaber."
In the background Hamas TV is repeatedly broadcasting the same scenes of dozens of bodies of the uniformed Hamas soldiers who were killed in Israel's first attack yesterday when Israel hit the Hamas officer's course graduation ceremony.
Hamas TV, Dec. 28, 2008
To see other examples
from PMW's archives click
here
A video on Hamas TV this morning blended pictures of Hamas fighters shooting at Israel with pictures of injured Israelis and medical evacuation scenes.
