-HOW HAMAS MADE FOOLS OF THE GOLDSTONE COMMITTEE

EDITORIAL COMMENT

“Hamas’ pure wind comes with an attack of acid reflux.”

NOVEMBER 2, 2009 -  Commenting on the U.N. Human Rights Council vote in favour of the Goldstone Report, an official source in the Hamas movement recently stated the following:  “Hamas welcomes the majority vote of the members of the U.N. Human Rights Council for the Goldstone Report, which is considered a victory for the blood of the Palestinian people, and an important step towards bringing to trial the Zionist war criminals before international courts . . . ” (Palestine-Info website, October 16, 2009)

However, Hamas’ enthusiasm on behalf of the blood of the Palestinian people might be short-lived, although like any despot regime, it’s doubtful they will ever see it that way.

Israel’s Intelligence & Terrorism Information Centre (I&TIC) reported yesterday that Fathi Hamad, (seen below) the interior minister of the de facto Hamas administration, last week described the support his office gives to terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.  “Hamad’s description contradicts the claim the Hamas administration made to the Goldstone Committee, that being, they have no direct or indirect links to terrorist organizations,” says I&TIC.

“We work in coordination with the resistance factions to make it easier for them to carry out their missions,” Hamad was quoted in the Safa News Agency website on October 28, 2009.

I&TIC adds that: “The statements made above by the Hamas administration’s interior minister and senior Hamas figures clearly show that the Hamas claims adopted by the Goldstone Report have no basis in fact. They show that the interior ministry, which is part of the de facto Hamas administration, is in charge of supporting the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and of directing their actions according to Hamas strategy. Thus all sectors of Hamas – the movement, the de facto administration and its military-terrorist infrastructure – are fully and directly responsible for rocket attacks against Israel (‘a war crime’ as determined by the Goldstone Report) and for turning the Gaza Strip into a breeding ground for terrorism.”

As I&TIC points out there are contradictions between the statements of senior Hamas figures and the Goldstone Report:

“The statements made by the interior minister in the de facto Hamas administration and other Hamas figures quoted above expose the contradiction between the Goldstone Report and the strategy and actions of Hamas. The Report rejected out of hand Israel’s position that the de facto Hamas administration (‘the Gaza authorities,’ according to the report) was part of the ‘Hamas terrorist infrastructure’ (Page 11, Paragraph 32). The Report completely distinguishes between the so-called ‘Gaza authorities’ (i.e., the Hamas administration) and the so-called ‘Palestinian armed groups’ (i.e., Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the other terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip).

The Goldstone Report quotes the claims made by the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip that there are no direct or indirect connections between it and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and that it has no idea of what tactics are used by the ‘armed groups’ (‘The Mission also addressed questions regarding the tactics used by Palestinian armed groups to the Gaza authorities. They responded that they had nothing to do, directly or indirectly, with al-Qassam Brigades or other armed groups and had no knowledge of their tactics,’ Page 134, Paragraph 439; and “…the Gaza authorities stated that they had ‘nothing to do, directly or indirectly, with al-Qassam or other resistance factions…’ ” Page 459, Paragraph 1668).

Therefore, while it says that ‘[t]he Mission emphasizes the obligation of the Gaza authorities to respect international law…, and is of the view that this requires the prevention and prosecution of violations of international law occurring within its area of de facto governmental authority’ (Page 471, Paragraph 1715), it also relieves the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip of responsibility by making it the task of the ‘Palestinian armed groups’ which have ‘have failed in their duty to protect and respect civilians’ (Page 473, Paragraph 1721). While the Report does condemn the indiscriminate rocket fire of the ‘armed groups’ attacking the civilians in the south of Israel, and calls it a ‘war crime’ which may be considered a ‘crime against humanity,’ it does not place responsibility on the Hamas movement and the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, but rather on the ‘Palestinian armed groups’ (Pages 473-4, Paragraph 1724).

I&TIC also states: “During a seminar held by the Association of Factions and [Trade] Unions in Gaza City on Wednesday, October 28, Hamad added that the interior ministry had never refused anything to members of the resistance who appealed to it. Quite the opposite, [the ministry] provided for all their needs and gave them all possible assistance. He said that the Change and Reform Faction [i.e., the Hamas faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council] had kept all the promises made to the Palestinian people during the election campaign, including that of protecting the resistance, noting that he met with them [i.e., operatives of the terrorist organizations] on a daily basis.

As George Orwell once said: “Political language. . .  is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”  Hamas’ pure wind comes with an attack of acid reflux.

The statement made by Fathi Hamad appeared on Hamas’ Palestine-Info website

I&TICs report can be read in its entirety at: Goldstone

(Photo Credit: I&TIC)

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