Hamas Pushes the “Red Button” on New Star
Posted on January 31, 2012
Palestinians in the Hamas ruled Gaza Strip recently enjoyed the rare freedom of expression through the broadcasting of the New Star talent show last year. However, this sign of freedom came to an abrupt end when Hamas decided to ban the year-old program from being aired.
Hasan Abu Hashish, the head of the media department for Hamas, took the show off the air calling it “indecent.” He argued that singing is not a shared hobby of the majority of Palestinians and therefore does not need to be distributed on television.
Hamas has used its very own Al-Aqsa TV to broadcast its anti-Israel propaganda. For example, sermons from radical Islamist scholars target the adults, and youth programs distort the children by teaching them to grow up to hate Israel.
Hamas History & Ideology
Posted on January 21, 2012
To understand the danger of Hamas and the origin of its terror, one must first truly understand what Hamas is and the ideology for which it stands.
Hamas was founded in 1987 by Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Mahmoud Zahar during the First Intifada as a wing of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. However, firstly, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood calls for the establishment of an Islamic legal system in the Muslim world, and only afterward it turns its attention to the issue of Palestine. On the other hand, Hamas views jihad as the only way of solving the Palestinian issue. Sheik Ahmed Yassin stated in 1987 through the Hamas Charter, that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, Judea & Samaria, and the Gaza Strip. The very first quote of the Hamas Charter defines its Islamic supremacist character:
“You [Islamic nation] are the best nation that has been raised up unto mankind.” (Quran, Sura 3:110).
Hamas believes that this supremacy of Islam obligates it to literally exterminate millions of people who hold different beliefs than Islam, foremost the Jews.
The following are current examples of the expression of the radical and inhumane ideology of Hamas:
“Regarding the Jews, our business with them is only through bombs and guns[…]” (Nizar Rayan, Hamas’ religious and military leader, Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), December 31st, 2008)
In an article in Al-Rissala, Hamas’ official newspaper, Hamas promotes the extermination of the Jews by use of suicide terror against Israel for the good of the world:
“We find more than one condemnation and denunciation of the resistance operations and bombings, carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian resistance branches… [Eventually] everyone will know that we did this only because our Lord commanded so: ‘I did it not of my own accord’ [Quran] and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the worlds.” (April 23rd, 2007)
Sheikh Yunus Al-Astal, a Hamas member of parliament who writes a regular column in Hamas’ newspaper Al-Rissala, wrote the following article in the issue of March 13th, 2008. Headline:
“Suffering by Fire is the Jews’ destiny in this world and next… you will taste the punishment of Scorching Fire.” [Quran 3:181]
“This [Quran] verse threatens the Jews with the punishment of Fire… the reason for the punishment of Fire is it is fitting retribution for what they have done… but the urgent question is, is it possible that they will have the punishment of Fire in this world, before the great punishment [of Fire in Hell] … many of the [Islamic] religious leaders believe that the [Jews’] punishment of Fire is in this world, before the next world… therefore we are sure that the Holocaust is still to come upon the Jews.”
Not only does Hamas constantly preach hatred of Jews in their publications but it also publicly boasts about their complete disregard of the lives of their own population. Fathi Hammad, the Interior Minister of Hamas, proudly announced in his speech in front of thousands of people, that was also broadcasted on Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas’ official channel, that the Palestinians had turned death into an “industry” and closed his speech with a message to “the Zionist enemy”:
It is a core belief of Hamas that the killing of Jews is any Muslim’s religious duty and prerequisite to redemption. When one understands the foundation of Hamas’ ideology one can understand the reasons for the ongoing terror against Israel’s innocent civilians.
Hamas’ Denial of the Holocaust
Hamas has always taken a strong anti-semitic tone, but for a long time, it has not been accompanied by a denial of the Holocaust. In its 1988 charter, Hamas makes a direct comparison between Jews and the Nazis, using the common claim that Israel has used the same methods against the Palestinians as those used by Nazi Germany against the Jews and taking it much further. But in an official press release in response to the Stockholm Conference on the Jewish Holocaust that was held in January of 2000 Hamas stated that:
“The so-called Holocaust, […] is an alleged and invented story with no basis. . . . The invention of these grand illusions of an alleged crime that never occurred, […] clearly reveals the racist Zionist face, which beliefs in the superiority of the Jewish race over the rest of the nations.”
Hamas’ pamphlets have always had a strong anti-semitic tone, calling Jews the “sons of pigs and monkeys”. One of the official papers of the Hamas, the monthly London-based Filastin al-Muslimah, frequently presents anti-semitic arguments, usually on a religious basis. Until the release of the above statement, however, Hamas did not deny the Holocaust publicly.
This change shows how Hamas has moved ideologically closer to governments such as the radical Islamic Iranian regime headed by its notorious holocaust denying president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Antisemitism in the Hamas Charter
The Hamas Charter is the paper outlining the position of Hamas on key issues such as committing not only to the destruction of the State of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state in its place but to raw, undiluted Jew-hatred.
The Charter openly presents the notoriously anti-Semitic, “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion” as hateful evidence that Jews are inherently greedy, manipulative, and conniving. The Charter repeats century-old anti-Semitic fabrications such as Jews becoming rich by stealing, Jews plotting to control the world, and Jews pulling the strings of global media, government, and finance. These are the same anti-Semitic stereotypes that have been used throughout history to demonize Jews and have led to countless pogroms and ultimately the Holocaust.
Hamas wants to present a moderate face to the western world, but in reality, it is not just anti-Israel, but also antisemitism lies at the core of its belief system. The Charter blames “world Zionism” for every major disaster in modern history from the French and Communist Revolutions, to both World Wars, to the creation of the United Nations, which Hamas believes to having been created by Jews “in order to rule the world by their intermediary”.
Example from the Hamas Charter:
“The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him…” (Article 7)
[Jews] control of the world media [and use their] wealth to stir revolutions … They stood behind the French and the Communist Revolutions.” (Article 22)
“There was no war that broke out anywhere without their [Jews] fingerprints on it.” (Article 22)
Hamas leaders often present themselves as more moderate and liberal when dealing with Western governments and media, but in the Arab street, the same values and goals are still propagated. Hamas has no interest in taking a less extremist stance against Israel and its hateful rhetoric against Jews and Israel remains unchanged.
“Hamas will never recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist state that was founded on our land” – (Khaled Mashaal, February 3, 2006, Al-Hayyat al-Jedida).
“The constants and the strategy of Hamas do not change according to circumstances. Hamas will stay faithful to jihad, to resistance, to guns, to Palestine, and to Jerusalem.” — (Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas Prime Minister, January 20, 2006, Gulf Daily News, Bahrain).
“The annihilation of the Jews here in Palestine is one of the most splendid blessings for Palestine” – (Hamas Cleric Muhsen Abu ‘Ita, Al-Aqsa TV, July 13, 2008)
Yahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash – The Engineer
Nicknamed “The Engineer”, Yahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash was the chief bomb maker for Hamas and the most wanted man in Gaza for three years until his death in 1996. Born in Rafah in 1966, Ayyash is credited with advancing the technique of suicide bombing of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades.
As part of a strategic alliance between Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ayyash built the bombs used by Islamic Jihad at the Beit Lid massacre. Israel’s restriction of explosives in Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and the Jordan Valley forced Ayyash to use a deadly combination of commonly available household products: acetone and detergent. The combination of these products forms acetone peroxide, an explosive known as “Mother of Satan” for its instability.
Ayyash personally built the bombs used in a number of Hamas suicide attacks which resulted in 439 casualties.
In 1996, Ayyash’s terror plans were cut short by a bomb-laden cell phone that he received from a friend, who had cooperated with the Shin Bet. He was instantly killed upon answering the call.
Ahmed al-Jabari – The Militay Chief
The military chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ahmed Jabari was in charge of overseeing the imprisonment of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by Palestinian terrorists in 2006 outside of the Gaza Strip. When a prisoner exchange was arranged handing back Shalit to Israel in return for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in October 2011, Jabari personally escorted Shalit to the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, making a rare public appearance. In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper, Jabari confirmed that most of the 477 prisoners released in the first part of the prisoner exchange were collectively responsible for the deaths of 569 Israeli civilians.
Due to his involvement with Hamas’ military activities in the Gaza Strip, Jabari was arrested by the Preventive Security Force of the Palestinian Authority in 1998. He was released in late 1999. In 2002, Jabari became the operational head of the militant wing at the height of the Second Intifada. Today, the global arena knows Jabari as the head, but Mohammed Deif is his counterpart hiding in the background. In September 2010, Jabari threatened to increase attacks against Israel to derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
It is widely believed that Jabari along with Deif played the leading role in Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in June 2007.
The following quote is representative of the true nature of the leaders:
“Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades have taken it upon themselves to empty Israeli
jails of all prisoners regardless of their political positions or their ideology.” (October 23, 2011)
Mohammad Deif – Head of the Armed Wing
In 1995, Mohammad Deif’s mentor, Yehya Ayyash, was killed. Deif learned the expertise of assembling IED’s (improvised explosive device) through Ayyash. Following Ayyash’s death, Deif assumed the role of becoming “the engineer” in the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed military wing. As a result, he became the mastermind behind a series of terrorist attacks that hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In 2002, he took over as commander of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades. As to this day, Deif is held personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians in suicide bombings since 1996. He is also considered to be the co-designer of the Qassam rocket.
In February 2006, some Israeli media outlets reported that Deif, unhappy with the truce announced by Hamas, decided to split from Hamas to join Al-Qaeda cells being established in the Gaza Strip. However, this move was denied by the Ezzadeen al-Qassam Brigades. In 2007, Deif led Hamas’ military wing to violently oust security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas from the Gaza Strip.
The following quotes are representative of the true nature of the leaders of Hamas:
“Today you have left the hell of Gaza in shame but have not gotten out completely, as you continue to occupy Palestine….We tell the Zionists who have tarnished our soil, we tell you that all of Palestine will become a hell” (NYT, August 28, 2005)
“The Al-Qassam Brigades…are better prepared to continue on our exclusive path to which there is no alternative, and that is the path of jihad and the fight against the enemies of the Muslim nation and mankind….We say to our enemies: you are going on the path to extinction, and Palestine will remain ours including Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Al-Aqsa (mosque), its towns and villages from the (Mediterranean) Sea to the (Jordan) River, from its North to its South. You have no right to even an inch of it.”
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook – Hamas’ Mr. International
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook is the Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau and has been active in Islamic political work since 1968, founding the Islamic Association of Palestine. Marzook played a significant role in reorganizing Hamas after the mass arrest of its members in 1989. He was elected as Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau in 1991 and shortly after moved to Jordan, where he lived for three years. While in Jordan he was suspected of planning numerous terrorist attacks, including the April 1994 bombings in Afula and Hadera.
In 1981, Marzook moved to the United States to pursue higher education. During the 80s and early 90s, while living in the US, Marzook was reported to have lectured a training session of terror recruits at a June 1990 conference in Kansas. Also in the US, he served as the political director of the Springfield, Virginia-based United Association for Studies and Research (UASR). The UASR has been linked to two Palestinian-Americans who were arrested in Israel for smuggling funds into the country to fuel Hamas terror activities.
In 1995, Marzook was arrested in the United States at New York’s JFK Airport after returning from a trip to the Middle East, and consequently was added to the U.S. Treasury Department list as a Specially Designated Terrorist, under numerous alternative spellings and aliases. Israel requested he is extradited to Israel on charges of issuing commands and transferring money to the military wing of Hamas. Israel later decided not to pursue the extradition request and instead Marzook was deported to Jordan. Today, he is believed to be traveling on a Yemeni passport and residing in Syria.
The following quote is representative of the true nature of the leaders:
“One of Hamas’ founding principals is that it does not recognize Israel…Therefore, the question of recognizing Israel is definitely not on the table unless it withdraws from ALL the Palestinian lands, not only to the 1967 borders.”
Ismail Haniyeh – The Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh rose to prominence as a close associate of Hamas’ spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. When Sheikh Yassin’s successor in Gaza, Abdel-Aziz Rantissi, was killed by Israel in April 2004, Hamas decided to keep the name of its new leader in Gaza secret. Palestinian sources said Haniyeh was appointed to the group’s “collective leadership” with Mahmoud Zahar.
In January 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Elections and took administrative government control over the Gaza Strip. Ismail Haniyeh was then elected to become the Prime Minister of Hamas. In 2007, Haniyeh lead Hamas in a violent takeover of Gaza from Fatah security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority. Today, the Palestinian Legislative Council continues to recognize Haniyeh’s authority as Prime Minister of Hamas in Gaza. He has always favored violence over diplomacy and has said that Hamas’ victory in the elections in 2006 was proof that the majority of Palestinians support terrorism against Israel.
The following quote represents the true nature of the leaders:
“We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem”.
