An interesting interview....
`Most Israelis Are Combatants'
A key Hamas official discusses his organization's policy on killing civilians and how it will respond to Israel's latest Gaza strike
[...]
NEWSWEEK: What kind of understanding was Hamas hoping to achieve with the Israelis?
Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi:
We suggested an initiative that if the Israeli Zionists stop their attacks on civilians, we were prepared to stop our martyrdom [suicide] attacks. Among our conditions was the demand that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners and pull troops out of the West Bank and Gaza.
Where does the initiative stand now?
We saw what Sharon's response was.
But you were ready to call off attacks so the two sides could talk?
We don't believe that if we stop attacks an agreement will ensue. But we were ready to do it to show the Arab countries that we're not the problem.
You shared a prison cell with Salah Shehada. What was he like?
We were in prison together in the same cell in 1995 and 1996 ... He was very strong physically, very tough in difficult situations.
What was he convicted of?
He was convicted of belonging to the military wing of Hamas, but he never confessed to it.
Was he the leader of the military wing of Hamas?
Yes, but only in Gaza.
That means Shehada oversaw all the attacks in Gaza?
I would think so, based on his title.
Your group was outraged by Israel's killing of women and children in the bombing this week, but Shehada himself engineered attacks against civilians.
We are targeting soldiers but sometimes civilians get killed. We always try to limit ourselves to attacking soldiers.
Look at the percentage of Israeli soldiers killed in the fighting-it's more than 50 percent. I'm speaking about statistics, not imaginary things. Combatants are not just people who wear uniforms.
What do you mean? How does Hamas define civilians?
An Israeli civilian is someone who never took part in the fighting. If he participated in the fighting in the past, years ago, he is not a civilian. That's why Israelis are still pursuing the Germans who took part in the Holocaust, though some of these people are in their 80s. They are still considered soldiers.
So you consider all Israeli men combatants because they at one time or another served in the army and do reserve duty?
Yes.
What about Israeli women?
Most Israeli women served in the army.
According to these criteria, what percentage of the Israeli population do you consider combatants?
The majority. We choose military targets. If civilians are liable to die, that isn't a reason to stop the attack. But we don't set out to kill civilians.
That reasoning sounds like what Israelis are saying about the
bomb that killed Shehada as well as women and children.
Our formula is different. According to their logic, it's enough for
there to be one fighter in a neighborhood to justifying dropping the
bomb.
Israel appears to have benefited from information provided by
collaborators for the attacks. What kind of evidence has your
group unearthed on this?
We figured out who the collaborator must have been and we were
about to put our hands on him, but the Palestinian intelligence arrested
him first. I can't say much about it.
Was he a member of Hamas?
No. But I believe that the Israelis gave him pictures of Sheik Salah
and briefed him about him. He was following Sheik Salah.
How did you figure out who it was?
A few minutes before the bomb fell, a man spoke on the phone near
Sheik Salah's house and said something about Salah Shehada.
Someone overheard him talking on the phone and after the blast put the
two things together. This person came to us and told us about it.
What should be done with this man, the collaborator?
According to Islamic law, he should be put to death.
How many collaborators are there among Palestinians?
We don't have numbers, but in 35 years of occupation, Israel
managed to recruit many. We're a conservative society, and that gives
Israel the opportunity to blackmail people, especially youngsters, 14-
or 15-year-olds. They set them up in compromising situations and then
take pictures or a video. They tell these people that if they don't
cooperate, the video will be distributed publicly.
You mean sex videos?
Yes.
Are there collaborators inside Hamas?
I don't think so. I don't think it's possible for someone from the
outside to infiltrate.
Why not?
The collaborator would be unable to fast like us and to pray like us.
He wouldn't have the kind of awareness we have of religious law and Islamic values.
© 2002 Newsweek, Inc.
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