Hamas Double-Speak-sound familiar?

April 25, 2006


Attack in Egypt (April 24, 2006): Hamas condemns the attack that took place in Egypt, calling it '' a criminal action that dishonors our region''. ''This attack destabilizes the national security of the Palestinians and works against the interests of the Arabs'' said the spokesperson of the terrorist movement.

Yet, this very next day, Tuesday April 25, 2006, Jordan announced that it had arrested several Hamas activists on suspicion of planning to execute a terror attack in the country. A government spokesman said that the alleged operatives received orders from the Hamas leaders in Damascus. During their interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were planning to attack senior members of the Hashemite kingdom.


This is the same Hamas who said last year, August 17, 2005, “The armed struggle is the only strategy that Hamas possesses."

A Hamas who operates in disputed territories, notice where: In recent months a Hamas terrorist cell was uncovered in Shia'h, a village north of Hebron. The cell was responsible for planning and perpetrating terrorist attacks in the region over the last few years. The Hamas leadership in the Hebron area ensured that the cell received weapons and operational instructions. This cell was comprised of a large number of people who had been trained in firearms and the use of explosives. The commander of the terrorist cell is Mussa Hala'akia, 37, married with nine children and a resident of Shia'h. Hala'akia was responsible for recruiting and training most of the cell's members.

Just in the last 4 years Hamas’ history for use of terror speaks for itself. Here are but a few examples:
· On February 10, 2002, cell members Khaled Tal and Muhammad Batat opened fire at the entrance to the IDF Southern Command base in Be'er Sheva, murdering Lt. Keren Rothstein, 20, of Ashkelon and Cpl. Aya Malachi, 18, of Moshav Ein Habesor. Four others were wounded, one critically. One of the terrorists was killed at the scene; the second, wearing an explosives belt, fled in the direction of a nearby school, where he was shot and killed by a soldier and police officer.

· In recent months a Hamas terrorist cell was uncovered in Shia'h, a village north of Hebron. The cell was responsible for planning and perpetrating terrorist attacks in the region over the last few years. The Hamas leadership in the Hebron area ensured that the cell received weapons and operational instructions. This cell was comprised of a large number of people who had been trained in firearms and the use of explosives. The commander of the terrorist cell is Mussa Hala'akia, 37, married with nine children and a resident of Shia'h. Hala'akia was responsible for recruiting and training most of the cell's members.


· On August 28, 2005, during the Tahdia, Rahman Kaisiya attempted to perpetrate a suicide bombing at the Be'er Sheva Central Bus Station. Two security guards were seriously wounded preventing Kaisiya from blowing himself up in a crowded area.

· As recently as last month, March 28,2006 “Yes we did suicide attacks, but we are not terrorists’, stated by Dr Dweik, a longtime Hamas member and leader, studied for his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania

· On April 1, Siyad Siyam, the interior minister of the Hamas government, announced he was appointing Jamal Abu Samhadana , head of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), as general supervisor of the interior ministry and police. He also ordered the formation of a security force which, he claimed, would assist the Palestinian police to restore public order. The new force would be composed of members of the various terrorist organizations and would be directly responsible to the interior minister. The appointment set a precedent by being the first time the new Hamas government appointed to a senior position a self-declared terrorist leader with a long record of attacks against Israel and with Israeli (and possibly American) blood on his hands. In addition, after his appointment Samhadana gave interviews to the media and made it clear that he had no intention of giving up his position as head of the PRC and that he would continue carrying out attacks against Israel . He also stated that there was no contradiction between his continuing as head of a terrorist organization and his new appointment. This is the kind of logic that leaves one shaking his head!

· And yes, the Islamic Covenant still calls for Israel’s destruction. Hamas defines the transition to the stage of Jihad "for the liberation of all of Palestine" as a personal religious duty incumbent upon every Muslim. At the same time, it utterly rejects any political arrangement that would entail the relinquishment of any part of Palestine.



I submit for the reader’s consideration that you have once again a leadership that says one thing and its actions are the direct opposite of its words. Arafat was infamous for his double-speak, have we learned anything? To the media Hamas stresses that they are anti-terror, yet their covenant and as recently as today, their behavior tells the truth. The West should not "fall" for moderate-sounding statements the Hamas leadership will likely issue in the near future to gain international legitimacy and financing. Who and what will you choose to believe speaks volumes about your understanding of terrorism as it is practiced.