Here’s what the spokesman for Hamas had to say in defense of the carnage at Hebrew University today:
“‘We have to defend our people, our kids,’ said Abdul-Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas spokesman and senior Hamas official. ‘We should continue our struggle to push the Israelis to withdraw. Enough is enough.’”
“The Hamas statement said the bombing was ‘a first response’ for the assassination of Salah Shehadeh, founder of the organization’s Izz Adin el Qassam military wing, and for the deaths of 15 civilians in the Gaza bombing that killed him last week.”
“Rantisi, praised ‘the hero [Shehadeh],’ saying ‘the Zionists are paying the price of their terror and we say to all Zionists to leave Palestinian land.’”
Of course, a few hours later Israel defense minister Ben Eliezer authorized a “swift” Israeli retaliation for the bombing. The lives of Palestinian children is only going to get better after this great act of “heroism.”
Speaking of paying a price, the Electronic Intifada keeps us up to date on the exact price being paid on both sides. Between September 29,2000 and July,2002:
1,656 Palestinian deaths and 19,776 Palestinian injuries in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
576 Israeli deaths and 4,122 Israeli injuries
Rantisi wasn’t finished though. He had more to say:
“He called on the PA and the Arab world to ‘give the Hamas five years to fight the Zionists, the way they gave the PA five years to try to make peace. Give us five years and you’ll see for yourselves.’
A quick calulation show that another five years of this will give us nearly 8,000 dead and 80,000 wounded.
Hamas, the great defender of Palestinian kids, has spoken truly: “Enough is enough”