June 10, 1997
Yasir Arafat’s latest public praise of the Hamas
terrorist organization as “patriotic” is “incitement to murder Jews,”
according to the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
In an interview with the Russian newspaper Novoya Vremya, Arafat
said “Hamas, even its military wing, is a patriotic movement,” according to
the Israeli radio station Arutz 7 (June 10, 1997).
The official Hamas Manifesto declares: “By the command of the
Prophet , Muslims must fight the Jews and kill them wherever they
are…The land must be cleansed of the filth and evil of the tyrannical
conquerors.” (Principles 2 and 4)
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “Arafat’s public
praise of terrorists who have murdered over 200 Jews in the past 4 years as
‘patriotic’ incites the murder of more Jews. The U.S. should use its
$500-million aid package to the PLO as leverage to press Arafat to stop
this incitement.”
Arafat and other PLO officials have repeatedly praised Hamas:
-
Arafat publicly praised Yiyha Ayyash, the master Hamas
bomb-maker who killed at least 60 Israelis, as “a martyr.”
–Jerusalem Post, July 28, 1996 -
“Hamas is part of the national movement and it has its own
style and approach to action. It is resisting the Israeli enemy.”
–PLO “Foreign Minister” Farouk Kaddoumi, An Nahar, March 9, 1996 -
Arafat publicly praised Hamas bomb-maker Yiyha Ayyash as “the
struggler, the martyr.”
–New York Times, January 8, 1996 -
“It is not up to Israel to decide or define who is our enemy.
Hamas is not the enemy, it is part of the political fabric.”
–PLO Cabinet Minister Hanan Ashrawi, Jerusalem Post, July 25, 1995 -
“ strengthen the Palestinian position…It
would be dangerous to stop these actions, because the accords will crumble
if there is nothing to make Israel go forward.”
–Abbas Zakai, a member of the
Fatah Central Committee, Al Hayat, April 17, 1995 - “The PLO and the opposition complement each other…We
regard Hamas and Islamic Jihad as national elements…Themain enemy, now
and forever, is Israel.”
–PLO Justice Minister Freih Abu Medein,
Al Nahar, April 11, 1995; Al Quds, April 14, 1995 -
“We have a brotherly relationship with Hamas.”
–PLO Cabinet Minister Nabil Sha’ath, Reuters, Oct. 28, 1994 -
“The dialogue with Hamas will not be broken off. Hamas is part
of the Palestinian people.”
–Hisham Abdel-Rizak, Fatah leader in Gaza, UPI, Oct. 28, 1994 -
Arafat praised Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as “my brother
Ahmed Yassin the warrior.”
–New York Times, July 2, 1994
