Mahmoud Zahar has betrayed his people

[shira]

Mahmoud Zahar has betrayed his people

By calling Jewish children 'legitimate targets', the Hamas commander has dealt a serious blow to Palestinian justice


Jewish children everywhere are now "legitimate targets". This was the macabre warning uttered from the mouth of Hamas commander Mahmoud Zahar yesterday. In a shocking revelation the Hamas commander self-righteously declared, "The Zionists have legitimised the killing of their children by killing our children. They have legitimised the killing of their people all over the world by killing our people." The perverse al-Qaida logic used by Zahar in this proclamation is as simple as it is depraved, and the worst part is that it seems to have no end. What if the "enemy" was deemed to have raped or tortured, would we proceed to rape and torture in response as an instrument of war, anywhere in the world and against any Jewish person?

Is justice in the Palestine question reduced to a body count of how many children have been beheaded? Zahar, you have betrayed your people, and I hope and pray that others inside Palestine and indeed within your own movement condemn your dehumanisation of innocent babies.

Last April I wrote about the double standards that plague Islamists in this debate, and what I said then sadly rings true now:

"The right to life must also be non-negotiable. Just as British Muslims condemn the deaths of Muslim civilians in Iraq or Palestine, they must also condemn suicide bombings that kill non-Muslim civilians. The silent barbaric logic behind killing 'a child for a child' must cease. Murder is murder."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/07/gaza-mahmoud-zahar-hamas

Oops?

Hamas needs some serious PR help for this "slip" of the tongue. Hmmm....how to minimize this, lemme count the ways. The author writes this is a shocking statement. But anyone who pays attention to the arab press, or takes a good look at many youtube videos, sees this Jew hatred all the time. What's shocking is not the statement but the publicity it's getting.

Actually, you've gotta sometimes admire the cahones they have for admitting the truth about their intentions.

[JuniperLea]

1. Shame on him for his eye for an eye mentallity... eom

[Kajsa]

2. You said it well, Juniperx.

My sentiments exactly.

:(

[peacetalksforall]

3. I'm not sure why posters are getting riled up - the gist of his statements have

been made by both sides for decades. More importantly, words became actions and death has been lobbed back and forth for decades.

What is the difference between Israelis or Palestinians saying them?

And as far as acts - at the end of each day since December 26 - Israelis have said there is more to come - and they didn't just kill the chickens, dogs, and cattle.

There is anguish there on one side and presently, there is purposeful and atrocious killing on the other side. In addition, this is what thousands of people have said for decades then each side takes retribution.

It is one thing to ask someone to stop, it is another to know that neither side has ever stopped. This is why they have been the subject of conversation for all this time.

Israel has the technological, stockpile, and financial might. They had capital. They didn't do much with it since this is now a massacre.

Words don't count that much - actions do.
The dialog has been atrocious.

[Joe the Revelator]

5. Good job deflecting

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ShadesOfGrey]

6. Hamas talks and Israel acts...

It's becoming obvious that Israel is now targeting civilians. Too many OOPS! on schools and homes that the military told families to flee to for safety. Of course Israel would never announce their intentions, they are much more adept at PR than Hamas is.

[bunnies]

7. 200+ innocent Palestinian children...

have already died due to this kind of twisted mentality. I can understand his anger - but two wrongs dont make a right.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

8. Israelis ACTUALLY MASSACRE Palestinian children, and that's A-OK.

Palestinians suggest Israelis are legitimate targets and they are the personificaiton of evil.

(insert voodoo music) Watch what they say.... not what we do...

Typical Shira nonsense.

[cali]

10. oh please. The overwhelming opinion on DU

is that the Israeli massacre of Gazans is hideously wrong. But that doesn't mean the remark in question, is acceptable. And try being honest- the comment stated that all Jewish children everywhere were legitimate targets. You've aligned yourself with some ugly shit there. Not that this is a first for you.

[Marrah_G]

9. I understand his frustration- but an eye for an eye leaves both blind

People are not pawns, children are not collateral, revenge does nothing to bring about peace and only feels good for a moment.

Your addition underneath shows an extreme and unhealthy bias.

[LeftishBrit]

13. But that's precisely what he's saying!

[cali]

14. I understand nothing about people who advocate killing children

or who carry out attacks that invariably do kill children.

[azurnoir]

11. I do not think it is Hamas who needs the serious PR help

emaciated children clinging to their mothers corpses 80 meters away from an Israel military speaks volumes doesn't it?

I will agree with Mr Nawaz on this

Israel acts irresponsibly, with impunity and total disregard for the consequences of its military onslaught, and this leads to the deaths of many Palestinian civilians and some children. But it does not deliberately select children to murder, nor justifies doing so.

No the Israeli government does not try to justify killing children but it has mostly American on liner supporters who are more than willing to do so

[LeftishBrit]

12. A bit of context here!

Some people on the thread seem to think Nawaaz is Israeli or at least firmly on Israel's side.

He isn't. He's a British Muslim, who used to belong to an extreme Islamist organization, before rejecting the extremist views. He is now a director of the Quilliam Foundation, an organization of Muslims opposed to hardline views and terrorist acts.

He has been quite critical of Israel's actions in Gaza, and was a signatory to a letter to Gordon Brown urging him to condemn the action. So he is a sense now attacking extremism from his own side - not from an 'enemy'.

Surely we can all agree with him that:


"The right to life must also be non-negotiable. Just as British Muslims condemn the deaths of Muslim civilians in Iraq or Palestine, they must also condemn suicide bombings that kill non-Muslim civilians. The silent barbaric logic behind killing 'a child for a child' must cease. Murder is murder."