Hamas Celebrating Culture of Hate

Hamas Celebrating Culture of Hate

Response to Julie Webb-Pullman's photo essay - Hamas 24th Anniversary

Following the photographic slide show of Palestinians celebrating the 24th Anniversary of the founding of the Islamist movement Hamas there are just a few issues I would like to point out which Ms Webb-Pullman omitted to include in her story.

It is for instance nowhere that I read that the on the 13th of December Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah said to a huge crowd in Gaza (described by the Bloomberg report as 100,000): “We affirm that armed resistance is our strategic option and the only way to liberate our land from the [Mediterranean] sea to the River [Jordan]. God willing, Hamas will lead the people… to the uprising until we liberate Palestine, all of Palestine”. In other words; they will use any kind of violence and terrorist attacks to wipe Israel from the map.

Neither does Ms Pullman-Webb tell that Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades – the armed wing of Hamas – issued a statement in which it said 1,848 of its fighters had been killed by Israel and its members have killed 1,365 Israelis since the group’s founding on 14 December 1987. Hamas militants have carried out 1,117 attacks on Israel, including 87 suicide bombings, and have launched 11,093 rockets at Israeli targets, the statement said.

The fact remains; Hamas is an internationally recognized terrorist organization, one which children are taught the honor of being suicide bombers and to seek ‘martyrdom’ through Jihad and which absolutely refuses to accept the existence of the State of Israel.

So much for a celebration… but why does Scoop disseminate such material, isn’t this photo essay anything else but a pro-Hamas propaganda exercise?

Embassy of Israel in Wellington