----- Original Message -----



> Politics" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 3:53 AM
> Subject: [Africa-Politics] Interview with the new leader of Hamas
>
>
>
>
> Interview with the new leader of Hamas
>
> The new leader of Hamas in the Gaza strip, Abd al-Asis al-Rantissi,
> talks about the escalation of the armed struggle against Israel.
>
> SPIEGEL: You are following in the footsteps of murdered Sheikh Ahmed
> Yassin at a critical time. Israel has threatened to wage total war on
> Hamas. Does this change anything in your strategy?
>
> Rantissi: I will continue the work of Sheikh Yassin. We will continue
> our current approach. This means that we operate inside Palestine,
> against the occupiers, and not beyond this framework. Our decisions are
> reached democratically. Our priority now is to unite the Palestinians
> in the resistance movement.
>
> SPIEGEL: Are you saying there will be more attacks against Israelis?
>
> Rantissi: Our resistance will escalate, that is certain.
>
> SPIEGEL: Could you be more specific?
>
> Rantissi: The operations are the business of our military wing. But
> they convey a clear message: There is no taboo, and the doors are open
> to them. I hope our reaction will be quite powerful. Sheikh Yassin was
> a symbol for the entire Islamic world.
>
> SPIEGEL: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is said to have ordered
> this liquidation himself.
>
> Rantissi: Sharon is a small animal, but a wild and terrible one. He
> himself is the world's biggest terrorist. How can someone be so
> cowardly as to murder a quadriplegic man, especially when he was just
> leaving his place of worship?
>
> SPIEGEL: You hate Sharon?
>
> Rantissi: I hate the leaders who have made sure that in the past three
> and a half years alone, more than 2,700 Palestinians have been killed,
> including countless children. I hate those who rip out our olive trees
> and occupy my homeland. Yes, I hate Sharon.
>
> SPIEGEL: The Israelis have now set their sights on the entire Hamas
> leadership. You yourself could be next. Conversely, do you feel that
> all Israeli leaders are now targets for attack?
>
> Rantissi: I will leave that to the military wing of Hamas.
>
> SPIEGEL: Are you truly interested in nothing more than an end to the
> Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank? Isn't your true
> goal to drive out the Jews, because you believe that the Israelis have
> no right to this country?
>
> Rantissi: I want an end to the decades-long tragedy of the Palestinian
> people.
>
> SPIEGEL: Could it now come to cooperation between Hamas and the
> Islamist Al Qaeda network?
>
> Rantissi: There is no connection between us and Al Qaeda.
>
> SPIEGEL: That could certainly change. What will you do if Al Qaeda
> approaches you?
>
> Rantissi: I assume that this will not happen.
>
>
>
>
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