....Arouri told the conference that
Hamas "did not have the intention at this time to ignite a large
battle".....his group did not believe Israel wanted a war either"...."But Allah has chosen and willed that a large battle would be ignited"....
...
One thing we never understand and never will. All revolutionaries claim that in order to achieve utopia heavy sacrifices will be called for. But why is it (to take the Israel-Gaza war as a template) that while the fighters and leaders are protected deep inside tunnels the civilians have no choice but to take it on the chin.
So far the biggest complaint against Hamas was that they use Palestinians as human shields. The response to this is, well...they are a guerrilla army and this is how they fight. But this is a much more serious charge...they provoke the Israelis...and knowingly put their own people at risk. It is as if they consider their own flesh and blood as mere pawns (more dead children = better PR).
Hamas is just so relaxed about the outcome- they were able to shut down Tel Aviv airport for two days...is that it? A show of force, two thousand martyrs who will help prod the memories of the next generation, and the fight goes on. From the Israeli side...same story...they call it "mowing the lawn." And of course they have their martyrs as well.
There is a problem with such continuous, calibrated, calculated, cruelties imposed on both sides. This much is true...when you create martyrs.....you also create monsters. There may come a time in the future when all the people on all sides will be devastated....imagine a Hiroshima on the Mediterranean. An ocean of bad blood...and suddenly not a drop of blood to spare (and to share). Think about it.
.....
A senior Hamas leader has said the group carried out the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June — the first time anyone from the Islamic militant group has said it was behind an attack that helped spark the current war in the Gaza Strip.
........
Saleh Arouri told a conference in Turkey on Wednesday that Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, carried out what he described as a "heroic operation" with the broader goal of sparking a new Palestinian uprising.
"It was an operation by your brothers from the al-Qassam Brigades," he said, saying Hamas hoped to exchange the youths for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas has repeatedly praised the kidnappings, but Arouri, the group's exiled West Bank leader, is the first member to claim responsibility. Israel has accused Hamas of orchestrating the kidnappings and identified two operatives as the chief suspects. The two men remain on the loose.
Arouri's admission shows "Hamas has no qualms whatsoever about targeting innocent civilians," said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev.
The kidnappings of the three teens while they were hitchhiking on June 12, along with the discovery of their bodies two weeks later, sparked a broad Israeli crackdown on Hamas members throughout the West Bank. Hamas responded with heavy rocket fire out of the Gaza Strip, leading Israel to launch an aerial and ground invasion of the territory.
More than 2,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting, according to Palestinian and U.N. officials, while 67 Israelis have also been killed, all but three of them soldiers. An Egyptian effort to mediate a cease-fire collapsed this week, leading to a resumption of heavy fighting.
Arouri told the conference that Hamas "did not have the intention at this time to ignite a large battle." He said his group did not believe Israel wanted a war either. "But Allah has chosen and willed that a large battle would be ignited," he said.
Arouri is one of Hamas' most senior figures. He founded Hamas' military wing in the West Bank two decades ago and now commands the group's operations in the area from exile in Turkey. He was deported several years ago in a deal that freed him from Israeli prison.
Earlier this week, Israel identified Arouri as the mastermind of an alleged plot to launch an uprising in the West Bank aimed at toppling Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
....
Link: hamas-kidnapping-israeli-teens
....
regards
...
One thing we never understand and never will. All revolutionaries claim that in order to achieve utopia heavy sacrifices will be called for. But why is it (to take the Israel-Gaza war as a template) that while the fighters and leaders are protected deep inside tunnels the civilians have no choice but to take it on the chin.
So far the biggest complaint against Hamas was that they use Palestinians as human shields. The response to this is, well...they are a guerrilla army and this is how they fight. But this is a much more serious charge...they provoke the Israelis...and knowingly put their own people at risk. It is as if they consider their own flesh and blood as mere pawns (more dead children = better PR).
Hamas is just so relaxed about the outcome- they were able to shut down Tel Aviv airport for two days...is that it? A show of force, two thousand martyrs who will help prod the memories of the next generation, and the fight goes on. From the Israeli side...same story...they call it "mowing the lawn." And of course they have their martyrs as well.
There is a problem with such continuous, calibrated, calculated, cruelties imposed on both sides. This much is true...when you create martyrs.....you also create monsters. There may come a time in the future when all the people on all sides will be devastated....imagine a Hiroshima on the Mediterranean. An ocean of bad blood...and suddenly not a drop of blood to spare (and to share). Think about it.
.....
A senior Hamas leader has said the group carried out the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June — the first time anyone from the Islamic militant group has said it was behind an attack that helped spark the current war in the Gaza Strip.
........
Saleh Arouri told a conference in Turkey on Wednesday that Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, carried out what he described as a "heroic operation" with the broader goal of sparking a new Palestinian uprising.
"It was an operation by your brothers from the al-Qassam Brigades," he said, saying Hamas hoped to exchange the youths for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas has repeatedly praised the kidnappings, but Arouri, the group's exiled West Bank leader, is the first member to claim responsibility. Israel has accused Hamas of orchestrating the kidnappings and identified two operatives as the chief suspects. The two men remain on the loose.
Arouri's admission shows "Hamas has no qualms whatsoever about targeting innocent civilians," said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev.
The kidnappings of the three teens while they were hitchhiking on June 12, along with the discovery of their bodies two weeks later, sparked a broad Israeli crackdown on Hamas members throughout the West Bank. Hamas responded with heavy rocket fire out of the Gaza Strip, leading Israel to launch an aerial and ground invasion of the territory.
More than 2,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting, according to Palestinian and U.N. officials, while 67 Israelis have also been killed, all but three of them soldiers. An Egyptian effort to mediate a cease-fire collapsed this week, leading to a resumption of heavy fighting.
Arouri told the conference that Hamas "did not have the intention at this time to ignite a large battle." He said his group did not believe Israel wanted a war either. "But Allah has chosen and willed that a large battle would be ignited," he said.
Arouri is one of Hamas' most senior figures. He founded Hamas' military wing in the West Bank two decades ago and now commands the group's operations in the area from exile in Turkey. He was deported several years ago in a deal that freed him from Israeli prison.
Earlier this week, Israel identified Arouri as the mastermind of an alleged plot to launch an uprising in the West Bank aimed at toppling Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
....
Link: hamas-kidnapping-israeli-teens
....
regards
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