Last update - 14:54 23/05/2006
'Hamas' terror is not a reaction to the occupation
By Assaf Uni
Haaretz

"Israel's right to exist is today the international criterion for distinguishing between the terrorist camp and the camp of life," says Magdi Allam, the Egyptian-Italian journalist and writer who is now visiting Israel.

"On one side, there is the Hamas government, Iran, fundamentalist Islam and even parts of the extreme left and right in Europe." On the other side, he says, are Western countries and "supporters of the right to live." The West, he believes, has consistently failed to grasp its situation: It does not understand that it is under attack, and it is trying to conduct a dialogue with the Muslims attacking it.

Allam, 54 and a native of Egypt, immigrated to Italy some 30 years ago and studied sociology at La Sapienza University in Rome. Today he is the deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest newspaper, and is one of the country's leading journalists. In a series of books, articles and public appearances, Allam has not hesitated to criticize radical Islam openly. He even attacks the weakness he claims the West in general - and Europe in particular - show in the face of the growth of radical Islam.

"The West thinks the Islamic terrorism that struck New York, London and Madrid is a reaction, a kind of uprising of the poor against the wealthy," he says in an interview with Haaretz. According to Allam, the West does not understand that it is facing an organized attack that is gradually gaining supporters around the world. Following September 11, he says, a new and dangerous front has emerged of Muslim radicals and extreme left- and right-wing elements that must be dealt with forcefully.

"Denying the right to exist of Israel necessarily leads to approval of the use of violence and terrorism in order to erase Israel from the map," he notes. "This is the main characteristic of the 'culture of death' that advocates killing those who deny Islam."

Allam says there should be a law that stipulates that any statement against Israel's right to exist - whether made during an imam's sermon in a mosque or in a press statement - should be deemed a criminal offense.

'Exceptional journalistic work'

On Sunday, Allam received the Dan David prize for his "exceptional journalistic work and commitment to freedom of the press." He shared the $1 million prize with three other journalists - Monica Gonzales of Chile, Adam Michnik of Poland and Goenawan Mohamad of Indonesia. The prizes were awarded at a ceremony, attended by Israeli President Moshe Katsav, at the Tel Aviv University campus. Other prizes were awarded to cellist Yo-Yo Ma and cancer researchers John Mendelsohn and Joseph Schlessinger.

The prize committee, whose members include the head of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the editor of The New Yorker, commended Allam "for continuously voicing his opinion against extremism and in favor of tolerance." According to the committee, Allam proves that "positive dialogue with moderate Islam is both possible and necessary."

Allam is using his visit to Israel to lecture, visit Yad Vashem and present his views to the Israeli public.

"My goal is to free the West from the nihilism that has spread in its midst, from the lack of values that leads to the growth of radical Islam," says Allam. "In the face of the threat from radical Islam, the West must be united and formulate a shared value system that sanctifies life and denounces the right to kill."

Therefore, he says, there should be sharp criticism of those who argue that the terrorism in Israel and Iraq is legitimate because it is being committed against occupation and in the name of independence. "Whoever says that supports a culture of death," Allam argues. "It may perhaps start with a show of some understanding, but will quickly spread to granting permission to destroy anyone who is not Muslim."

Allam is against any attempt at dialogue with the Hamas government.

"I oppose any middle way," he says. "I oppose any type of dialogue just for the sake of dialogue. Hamas is part of the global Islamic front. It is an organization that prefers to worsen the conditions of its citizens rather than recognize Israel. The terrorism it wages against Israel is ideological terrorism. It would be a big mistake to think that it is resistance, because they are not trying to promote a Palestinian state. They have simply been trying, ever since the signing of the Oslo Accords, to destroy every effort to achieve peace."

Failed integration

Allam's remarks against Hamas in recent years have brought death threats from the organization and require Allam to have bodyguards at all times. But the Palestinian organization is not the only one threatening his life - his criticism of imams and Muslim preachers in Europe has sparked rage in Muslim communities there as well.

"The integration of Muslim immigrants in Europe has failed," Allam says. "The multicultural model that was tried in Britain and Holland led to the creation of Islamic ghettos; the governments that thought granting freedom to their citizens would turn it into a shared value were mistaken. Many Muslims saw freedom as a green light to enforce Islamic law and create their own society within a society."

The French model of assimilation also failed, he says, and the Muslims in the suburbs of the large French cities do not see themselves as citizens of the Republic.

One of the events that illustrated integration's failure, Allam believes, is the Mohammed cartoon affair. This made it possible "to draw the battle lines" between those who advocate Islamic law and citizens of the West - and the picture that emerged, he says, is not encouraging. "Most European governments chose to denounce the publication of the drawings," he says, "and this was a big mistake." This February, Allam published an open letter supporting the right of European newspapers to publish the drawings of the prophet in the name of freedom of expression.

Integration will have a chance only if the European countries change their approach, he says.

"There is an Italian saying, 'Every nation receives the government it deserves.' Along the same lines, it may be said, 'Every state in Europe receives the immigrant community it deserves.'" According to him, the governments must act forcefully against some immigrant groups to make it clear that the laws of the state are above the laws of religion.

"There is no one single way to be Muslim," he says, "there is also no 'right' or 'wrong' Islam. We have the freedom to interpret Islam any way we like. When I grew up in Egypt in the 1960s, Islam was completely different - girls walked around in miniskirts and guys were listening to the Beatles. It's a mistake to say that if you're a Muslim in Europe you have to grow a beard, go to the mosque and wear a galabiya. It's a stereotype that was imposed by Muslim extremists."

On the future of the integration of Muslim immigrants in Italy, Allam says he is disappointed by the election of Romano Prodi's new center-left government.

"They are promising to be 'softer' on the matter of immigration laws, to bring back the soldiers from Iraq and to consider negotiations with Hamas," he says. "This only proves that Italy is going in the opposite direction compared to the rest of the world in dealing with immigration, which will lead to a deterioration of the situation."

He says he hopes that the government does not last long. Then perhaps he may enter politics.

This coming June, his latest book, entitled "I Love Italy - But Do the Italians Love It?" will hit the stores in his country. The Italian journalist, it seems, is positioning himself as someone who knows exactly what the country needs to forge a national identity that will prevent Muslim youths from turning to religious extremism. "In my book, I suggest setting up a ministry to address the matter of immigration and to create a national identity," he says. "In my vision, I see Italy as a picture framed by justice and law. In the center I see different communities that share a unified Italian national identity."

"However," he adds, "I don't think a government ministry of this type is possible these days."

Poll: Palestinians back Shalit abduction
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST     Jul. 9, 2006

An overwhelming majority of Palestinians support the abduction of IDF soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit and the firing of rockets at Israel, according to a public opinion poll published on Sunday by the Jerusalem Media Communications Center.

The poll, which was conducted shortly after Shalit's kidnapping, also showed that 70% of the Palestinians believe that Hamas should not release him until Israel agrees to free Palestinian prisoners.

The poll covered 1,197 people over the age of 18 and was held on the basis of face-to-face interviews. More than half of those polled were from the Gaza Strip, where Shalit is being held.

A majority of respondents, 77.2%, expressed support for the Hamas operation that included the abduction of Shalit, while only 21.7% said they opposed it.

Also, a majority of 66.8% supported the continuation of such attacks aimed at kidnapping Israelii soldiers, compared with 30.7% who rejected them, saying they were harmful to the Palestinian national interests.

Significantly, this high support for the abduction comes in spite of the fact that the majority of the respondents - 46.7% - expect the crisis to end with losses incurred by the Palestinian side.

Moreover, over 60.4% voiced support for the launching of rockets at Israel, while only 36% found them harmful to their interests.

The poll also found that support for Hamas has increased despite international sanctions and the growing violence. If elections were held today, the percentage of Palestinians who said they would vote for (Hamas) rose slightly from 30.8% in June 2006 to 33.1%.

Support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party dropped from 33% to 32%, according to the poll.
 

Hamas spokesman: Gaza is caught in a nightmare of anarchy and thuggery

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Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST

Aug. 28, 2006

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"When you walk in the streets of Gaza City, you cannot but close your eyes because of what you see there: unimaginable chaos, careless policemen, young men carrying guns and strutting with pride and families receiving condolences for their dead in the middle of the street."

This is how Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority government and a former newspaper editor, described the situation in the Gaza Strip in an article he published on Sunday on some Palestinian news Web sites.

The article, the first of its kind by a senior Hamas official, also questioned the effectiveness of the Kassam rocket attacks and noted that since Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip, the situation there has deteriorated on all levels. It holds the armed groups responsible for the crisis and calls on them to reconsider their tactics and to stop blaming Israel for their mistakes.

"Gaza is suffering under the yoke of anarchy and the swords of thugs," Hamad wrote. "I remember the day when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and closed the gates behind. Then, Palestinians across the political spectrum took to the streets to celebrate what many of us regarded as the Israeli defeat or retreat. We heard a lot about a promising future in the Gaza Strip and about turning the area into a trade and industrial zone."

Hamad said the "culture of life" that prevailed in the Strip has since been replaced with a nightmare. "Life became a nightmare and an intolerable burden," he said. "Today I ask myself a daring and frightening question: 'Why did the occupation return to Gaza?' The normal reply: 'The occupation is the reason.'"

Dismissing Israel's responsibility for the growing state of anarchy and lawlessness in the Gaza Strip, Hamad said it was time for the Palestinians to embark on a soul-searching process to see where they erred.

"We're always afraid to talk about our mistakes," he added. "We're used to blaming our mistakes on others. What is the relationship between the chaos, anarchy, lawlessness, indiscriminate murders, theft of land, family rivalries, transgression on public lands and unorganized traffic and the occupation? We are still trapped by the mentality of conspiracy theories - one that has limited our capability to think."

Hamad admitted that the Palestinians have failed in developing the Gaza Strip following the Israeli withdrawal and in imposing law and order. He said about 500 Palestinians have been killed and 3,000 wounded since the Israeli pullout, in addition to the destruction of much of the infrastructure in the area.

By comparison, he said, only three or four Israelis have been killed by the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip over the same period.

"Some will argue that it's not a matter of profit or loss, but that this has an accumulating effect" he said. "This may be true. But isn't there a possibility of decreasing the number of casualties and increasing our gains by using our brains and making the proper calculations away from demagogic statements?"

The Hamas official said that while his government was unable to change the situation, the opposition was sitting on the side and watching and PA President Mahmoud Abbas was as weak as ever.

"We have all been attacked by the bacteria of stupidity," he remarked. "We have lost our sense of direction and we don't know where we're headed."

Addressing the various armed groups in the Gaza Strip, Hamad concluded: "Please have mercy on Gaza. Have mercy on us from your demagogy, chaos, guns, thugs, infighting. Let Gaza breathe a bit. Let it live."

 

Abbas confirms deal on Shalit's release

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JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST

Sep. 5, 2006

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Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas confirmed Tuesday that a deal had been reached to secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

Abbas told Bahrain-based newspaper El-Halij that Shalit would be transferred to Egypt and held there until Israel fulfilled its part of the bargain.

For the good of the many, by Elliot Jager

Earlier, Channel 2 News reported that the kidnappers had promised to release news of the soldier's welfare by Wednesday.

The announcement came after the Egyptian newspaper Al-Hayat reported that Shalit had already been transferred to Egypt as part of a deal to secure his release.

The Jerusalem Post was first to report on Friday that two officers from Egyptian intelligence were stationed in the Gaza Strip and were said to be in touch with the actual kidnappers, who had passed on to them their demands. The Post reported that Israel was holding up the deal, and Egypt was waiting for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's response.

According to Al-Hayat, Shalit was handed over to Egypt "a short time ago" in exchange for Israel's guarantee to release 800 Palestinian prisoners in three stages.

Gilad's father Noam Shalit denied the report, saying unequivocally that Gilad was not in Egypt.

Israel Radio reported that Hamas had retracted its demand that Shalit be freed simultaneously with the Palestinian prisoners.

Al-Hayat said that Israel had stipulated that no prisoners with blood on their hands, as well as Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sadat, the PFLP head involved in the murder of former tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi, should be freed as part of the deal. Channel 10 News reported that Hamas had agreed to Israel's conditions.

A senior government source said that Israel was unaware of such developments and the security establishment made no comment on the reported agreement. Later officials from the Prime Minister's Office said they could not verify the information.