"Quote Unquote"
Saudi Arabia
Abdallah Al-Yahya, Scholar:
"They [Jews] are like a cancer in the economy of countries: If they spread, along comes someone to eradicate them, but then they grow once again. They undergo various stages, but woe to the world and to the Jews themselves if they become strong."
MEMRI, August 31, 2016
Arab League
Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General:
"Israel has not accepted the two-state solution.
Until now there is not one official statement that Israel accepts
the two-state solution and accepts to have a viable Palestinian state....
The Israelis do not want a Palestinian state"
"Yes, Hamas accepts the notion of two states.... So, if the
Israelis are serious then all Palestinian factions will accept a two-state
solution."
"Israel feels that they enjoy immunity against
international law so why should they bother, why should they concede,
why should they allow a Palestinian state to be created."
"The stability of the region, security of the
region, the future of the region cannot cope with a situation just
like this one... in regards to the negative Israeli policy."
Hamas
Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas Prime Minister:
"This intifada is not the result of despair. This intifada is a jihad, a holy war fought by the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupation. Only a holy war will drive the occupier out of Palestine."
Israel Hayom, January 21, 2016
"This is a generation which knows no fear. It is the generation of the missile, the tunnel and suicide operations."
January 13, 2014
"We (Palestinians) will never overlook
even one span of Palestine's soil because Palestine is an endowed
land and no person, leader, organization or group is entitled to the
right to ignore this land ... Israel has no future in the Palestinian
lands and our motto is that we will never recognize the Zionist regime."
- Fars
News Agency, October 27, 2012
"Thousands of fighters above ground and thousands of fighters underground have been preparing in silence for the campaign to liberate Palestine."
October 19, 2013
"Resistance and jihad
is the only strategic option for the Islamic ummah ... As the representative
of the Palestinian nation, we have (already) announced to the children
of the Arab ummah, the Islamic ummah, and all free-thinkers in the
world and (again) insist ... that we will never recognize the Zionist
regime and announce that the Palestinian nation will continue their
resistance until the holy Palestinian land is liberated ... the gun is our only response to [the] Zionist regime. In time we have come to understand that we can obtain our goals only through fighting and armed resistance and no compromise should be made with the enemy.”
- Tehran
Times, February 11, 2012
"The armed resistance and the armed
struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the
Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river,
and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel] from the
blessed land of Palestine. The Hamas movement will lead Intifada after
Intifada until we liberate Palestine - all of Palestine, Allah willing.
Allah Akbar and praise Allah ... Palestine - all of Palestine - is from
the sea to the river. We won't relinquish one inch of the land of
Palestine. The involvement of Hamas at any stage with the interim
objective of liberation of [only] Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem,
does not replace its strategic view concerning Palestine and the land
of Palestine."
Al-Aqsa
TV, December 14, 2011
"We repeat today that we are with the establishment of a Palestinian state on any liberated part of Palestinian land that is agreed upon by the Palestinian people, without recognizing Israel or conceding any inch of historical Palestine."
September 18, 2011
"Their [the 'Israeli entity's'] presence
on our land is illegal and cannot be recognized...We move forward
on what serves the interest of the Palestinian people, and the Israeli
positions are of no interest to us."
YNet,
April 29, 2011
"Palestine is from the sea to the river, from Rosh HaNikra to Rafah. The siege will not change our belief, wars don’t cause people give up resistance and resistance leaders. We will not recognize! We will not recognize! We will not recognize Israel!"
December 14, 2010
"This movement, with the
help of the militant factions liberated the Gaza Strip, and we say,
brothers and sisters, we will not be satisfied with Gaza ... Hamas
looks toward the whole of Palestine, the liberation of the strip is
just a step to liberating all of Palestine."
Jerusalem
Post, December 14, 2009
“[Hamas will never recognize] the Zionist
entity … [and] will remain steadfast, protecting the blood of
the martyrs … the resistance will prevail until liberating the
land, until liberating Jerusalem.”
International Middle
East Media Center, August 14, 2009
"We call on all the factions to undertake
efforts to contain the enemy and halt its aggression by planning martyrdom
operations."
AFP,
September 26. 2008
"Palestinians will fight Israel for generation upon generation
until victory, and will yet get to dance at the Al-Aksa mosque in
Jerusalem ... If Israel is not defeated in this generation, it will
be in the next generation.”
Canadian
Jewish News, August 17, 2007
"As far as we're concerned, the issue of recognition of
Israel has been settled once and for all. It has been settled in our
political literature, in our Islamic thought and in our Jihadist culture,
on which we base our moves. Recognition of Israel is out of the question.”
Al
Jazeera interview, April 2, 2007
"We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government
and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of
Jerusalem.”
USA
Today, December 6, 2006
"The decision [to include Rachel's Tomb and Cave of the Patriarchs
in a 'Jewish Heritage Trail'] requires a real response in the West Bank
and for the people to rise up in the face of the Israeli occupation
and to break every shackle in confronting it. The project aims to erase
our identity, alter our Islamic monuments and steal our history."
Khaled Meshal, Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau:
"The Palestinian territories which have been looted by force can only be retaken by force and power ... Resistance will remain our strategy, and what unites us, Palestinians, is gun and popular resistance against the occupiers."
FARS News Agency, July 2012
When asked about the terror
attack near Kiryat Arba on August 31, 2010 in which four Israelis
were killed by Hamas gunmen, [Hamas leader] Mashaal said that Hamas
will continue to "kill illegal settlers on our land." He
stated that Israeli settlers were the source of the problem and he
failed to understand why the international community gets upset when
‘we defend our people by confronting Israeli killings.
Jerusalem
Post, September 2, 2010
In a Damascus speech, Meshal played down talk of a potential
compromise and said that Arab states should renew their demands for
the "liberation [of Palestinian land] from the sea to the river,"
standard phraseology for the elimination of Israel.
Washington
Post, October 12, 2009
"Hamas envisions a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967
border with Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital, all Jewish settlements
dismantled and full sovereignty over land, air and water."
United
Press International, May 9, 2009
"There is only one enemy in the region, and that is Israel."
New
York Times, May 4, 2009
"We will never recognize Israel or cease to fight for our
land. Our battle against Israel is one of resistance to occupation."
Tehran Times, May 27, 2008
"This assembly holds special significance,
since it takes place after Gaza was liberated against the will of
the Zionist aggressors. Who knows when we will celebrate the liberation
of Gaza, Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, and all the rest of Palestine. Hamas,
together with the Palestinian people, will implement its policy using
a new language, without feeling any urge to meet with the enemy or
negotiate with it. Was Gaza liberated through negotiations?! Hamas
will continue to wield its weapons and to [claim] its right to resist.
Resistance will [continue to] be a strategic option until the last
piece of Palestinian land is liberated, and until the last refugee
returns."
“We ask all the people in surrounding Arab countries,
the Muslim world and everyone who wants to support us to send weapons,
money and men.”
Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas Co-Founder:
"Palestine means Palestine in its entirety
- from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, from Ras Al-Naqura
to Rafah. We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will
not recognize the Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch ... Our hands are extended to Fatah to join the program
of [armed] resistance and the liberation of Palestine."
Jerusalem
Post, December 4, 2012
"The principles and strategies of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement are stable and irrevocable, and we will powerfully pursue the Palestinian cause."
FARS News Agency, March 2012
"Destroy the throne of Zion, the house of absolute evil ...
Raise the banner of victory. Be like the fire of a volcano ... Repeat
in the name of your Jihad: Death to Israel! ... With blood and fire,
resist until freedom. Defeat the soldiers of aggression, the enemies
of humanity."
— Al-Aqsa
TV (Hamas official channel), November 22, 2012
"Zionists, wait and see terror attacks, stabbing everywhere. Wait for suicide attacks on every bus, cafe and street. Wait for the rage and for revenge for Gaza, wait for the flames of the West Bank, inside you.... [we] can reach you above ground and below it. So start counting the number of coffins you'll need in these months."
— Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas official channel), July 9, 2014
"The confrontation with the [Israeli] occupation will continue
despite the talk about a tahdiyah [calm]...As far as Hamas is concerned,
all options remain open."
— Osama Hamdan, Hamas Representative in Lebanon
"I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas
rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they
want to live in peace in Gaza."
— Sheik Abu Saqer, Jihadia Salafiya Leader
"The Hamas covenant itself is a standing incitement to genocide"
— Honorable Irwin Cotler, Canadian Member of Parliament
"All Israelis have now become legitimate targets."
— Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, July 8th 2014
When enemies (the Jews) usurp some Islamic
lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face
the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising
the banner of Jihad.""
— Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement,
Hamas
Hezbollah
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General:
"That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle."
"If they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble
of going after them worldwide."
"If we searched the entire world for a person
more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology
and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do
not say the Israeli."
"The Palestinian National Charter will live
on as long as there is a knife in a Palestinian woman's hand with
which she stabs an Israeli soldier or settler ... as long as there
are suicide bombers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv ... and as long as there
is a child who throws a stone in the face of an Israeli soldier."
Iranian Government
Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Iranian Supreme Leader:
"Contrary to their foolish aims, the Zionist regime and its supporters are very close to collapse and total extinction."
— October 4, 2014
"Israel's annihilation is the only real cure...while waiting for an end to this cold-blooded murderous regime, mighty armed resistance is the only way to deal with it."
— July 24, 2014
"There is a Zionist enemy, but the Zionist regime is not that big ... at times the officials of the Zionist regime threaten us, they threaten to launch a military invasion, but I think that they themselves know - and if they don't know, they should know - that if they make the slightest mistake, then the Islamic establishment will raze Haifa and Tel Aviv to the ground."
— March 21, 2013
"This bogus and fake Zionist outgrowth will disappear from the landscape of geography."
— August 16, 2012
"The ultimate goal is to liberate all of Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea ... (our) missiles will carry out [Islamic] duties any time they feel a threat stemming from the enemy."
— October 1, 2011
""Israel is a cancerous tumor. So what do you do with a cancerous
tumor? What can be done to treat a tumor other than removing it?"
— June 4, 2010
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President
"The Iranian people are ready to march on Israel to destroy it if it launches an attack adventure against Iran. The Zionists hope to attack Iran but they are afraid of the Iranian reaction and the consequences of such an attack. Our forces can deter any aggressor and make them pay."
— Islamic Summit in Cairo, February 6, 2013
"[Israel] ridicules and violates all laws and
humanitarian values... Following World War II they resorted to military
aggression to make an entire nation homeless on the pretext of Jewish
suffering... [The Jews] sent migrants from Europe, the US and other
parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government
in occupied Palestine...So long as Zionist domination continues, many
countries, governments and nations will never be able to enjoy freedom,
independence and security."
— Durban Review Conference, April 2009
"The real cure for the conflict is elimination of the Zionist regime."
— August 3, 2006
"The Muslim world will not forget its historic right and will resist tyranny and occupation ... the Zionist regime is a wound that has set on the body of the Muslim world for years and needs to be removed."
— Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President (ISNA News Agency, August 1, 2013)
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iranian President
"They established this cancerous tumor [Israel] in the strategic region of the Middle East, in order to control the most important place in the world, in history, civilization and even the current political balance of power ... Quds Day will continue to be held each year until the downfall of this trespassing regime."
— August 31, 2010
"If a day comes when the world of Islam is
duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession, the strategy
of colonialism would face a stalemate because application of an atomic
bomb would not leave any thing in Israel but the same thing would
only produce damages in the Muslim world."
— Khabar TV, December 14, 2000
Palestinian Authority
Mahmoud Abbas, PA President
"The 'Jewish state.' What is a 'Jewish state?' We call it,
the 'State of Israel'. You can call yourselves whatever you want.
But I will not accept it. And I say this on a live broadcast ... It's
not my job to define it, to provide a definition for the state and
what it contains. You can call yourselves the Zionist Republic, the
Hebrew, the National, the Socialist [Republic] call it whatever you
like. I don't care."
— Palestinian TV, April 27, 2009
Yasser Arafat cleaved to the permanent national
rights that cannot be diminished ... We state today, we will not deviate
one iota from the principles of Yasser Arafat and his objectives."
— Speech Marking Death of Arafat, November 2006
Jibril Rajoub, PA Deputy Secretary-General
"[Barcelona's football team] are coming to the occupied lands. All of Palestine - from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea - it's all occupied."
— Al-Kass Sports Channel (Qatar), June 2, 2013
"Resistance to Israel remains on our agenda, I mean resistance in all of its forms. At this stage, we believe that popular resistance - with all that it entails - is effective and costly to the other side [Israel] ... If you ask me as a Palestinian, I say - our battle is with the Israeli occupation. Our main enemy, not as Palestinians but as Arabs and Muslims, is Israel and the Israeli occupation ... If [Arab] mobilization would begin for the liberation of Jerusalem; if money [spent] and swords drawn in the face of the Zionist enemy, that would be great ... Until now we don’t have nuclear weapons. Believe me, if we had nuclear weapons we would use them tomorrow morning."
— Al Mayadeen (Lebanon), May 1, 2013
"After the experience of the last 44 years of military
occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be
in the best interest of the two people to be separated ... We are
trying to preserve the concept of a two-state solution, and to make
the Israelis understand there will be consequences for their actions."
—Maen Areikat, PLO Ambassador to the United
States
"All these reports about [the Palestinian Authority] recognizing
Israel are false. It's all media nonsense. We don't ask other factions
to recognize Israel because we in Fatah have never recognized Israel
... [Fatah] will never relinquish the armed struggle no matter how
long the occupation continues."
—Rafik Natsheh, Palestinian Authority Minister/Chairman
Fatah Disciplinary Court
"We have the right to practice all forms of
national struggle. We are in the phase of national liberation and
we have the right to use all means in the fight to end the occupation
until we establish the state."
—Azzam Al-Ahmad, Senior Fatah Leader
"Sons of Zion, this is an oath to the Lord of the Heavens:
Prepare all the bags you can for your body parts"
?Facebook, "Fatah-The Main Page," July 7, 2014
'Let every hour of the settlers' presence on our land be a source of threat and terror for them. Let us deprive their lives of security, so that the Palestinian land becomes a minefield against the occupation.'
Abu El-Einein, senior advisor to Mahmoud Abbas July 7, 2014
On Israel's Blockade
"Since one of the main purposes of imposing a naval blockade
is to use coercion against a hostile entity or state that is a party
to an armed conflict, the affected population genrally feel the effects
of this pressure.... The issue is not that there is coercive actions
which impacts the population collaterally, but rather what the impact
is and what mitigating humanitarian measures are put in place... Thus,
the fact that the fabric of economic life of the civilian population
is adversely affected as a result of economic warfare does not, in
itself, amount to collective punishment."
— "The Turkel Commission", The
Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of May 31, 2010,
Part One
"Legally, [Israel] is obliged only to prevent the civilian
population from dying from starvation. In practice we have done much
more than that... It is clear that the civilian population has suffered,
but that does not mean the measure was illegal. We will not [target
the areas where terrorists fire from], we will not do that. We will
not harm the civilian population."
—
Major General Avichai Mandelbilt, Israeli Military Advocate-General
“If Hamas were in Canada, America would have
a tougher blockade than Israel has. ”
— US Representative Barney Frank (D-MA-4)
"Our policy is simple. We say: any goods, any
humanitarian aid to Gaza, can enter. What we want to prevent is their
ability to bring in war materiel - missiles, rockets, the means for
constructing casings for missiles and rockets."
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“I understand the need for the Israelis to
maintain this blockade. If the blockade were to be broken, it would
be impossible to tell which vessels were carrying humanitarian supplies
and which were carrying deadly rockets. The bottom line is that the
attempt to prevent materials that could be used against Israel from
reaching Hamas is of vital interest to Israel and to its national
security, and I fully support it. We cannot allow the international
reaction to this incident to legitimize Hamas, which would undermine
our search for a lasting peace that would create security for Israel
and a Palestinian state.”
— US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
"It is entirely appropriate for Israel to have a boycott."
— US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-KY)
"The marine blockade was imposed due to security
needs and meets the requirements of international law... The policy
towards the Gaza Strip complies with international and humanitarian
law."
— Main Findings, Turkel Commission Report on Gaza
Flotilla
“Please be assured of my solidarity with you
[the Palestinians] in the immense work of rebuilding which now lies
ahead and my prayers that the embargo will soon be lifted.”
— Pope Benedict XVI
“So how can there be talk of lifting the Gaza
siege and relieving the distress of its people, while Hamas concentrates
all its efforts on recruiting and providing for its thousands of fighters.
It is clear that Hamas’ priority is to look after its militants,
at the expense of Gaza’s people and their suffering!”
— Tariq Alhomayed, Asharq Al-Awsat
On
Flotilla Incident (2010)
“This mission is not about delivering humanitarian
supplies, it is about breaking Israel’s siege.”
— Greta Berlin, Flotilla Spokesperson
"We are going to resist [the Israelis] and resistance will win."
— Bulent Yildrim, IHH Leader
"They [the Israelis] are going to have to forcefully stop us."
— Huwaida Arraf, Flotlla Organizer
"This incident was the result of an intentional
provocation of forces which support Iran and its terrorist enclave,
Hamas, in the Gaza Strip...This is a clear case of self-defense. Israel
cannot allow the free flow of weapons, rockets and missiles to the
terrorist base of Hamas in Gaza.... It's also a clear case of self-defense
because as our soldiers were inspecting these ships, they were attacked
- they were almost lynched. They were attacked with clubs, with knives,
perhaps with live gunfire, and they had to defend themselves - they
were going to be killed. Israel will not allow its soldiers to be
lynched and neither would any other self-respecting country...It is
our duty to defend the citizens of Israel, protect Israel’s
cities and ensure the security of the State of Israel - and we will
continue to do so."
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
"It is important that we keep in mind that Israel has a right
to ensure the security of its borders and protect its citizens from
terror."
— US Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)
"I fully support Israel’s right to defend
itself and use the means necessary to ensure their nation’s
security. The deliberate attempt to break the blockade around Gaza
is a reminder that Israelis live with the daily threats of rockets
and terror attacks."
— US Representative Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)
"Upon landing on the middle deck, I fractured
my arm, and a mob of dozens of people attacked me and basically lynched
me. (The assailants were) pulling off my helmet, strangling me, sticking
fingers into my eyes to gouge them out of their sockets, pulling my
limbs in every direction, striking me in an extremely harsh manner
with clubs and metal rods, mostly on my head. I truly felt that I
was about to die, way beyond what we define as life-threatening ... No regular citizen knows how to fight at night
with a vest and gas mask for an extended period of time, to take a
weapon, cock it, and fire without fear when engaging someone in a
fight, unless he was properly trained ahead of time."
— IDF Commando "No. 1",
Testimony to Turkel Committee
"I feel a number of people grabbing my hands
and feet, lifting me up. In this second I realize that they intend
to throw me over the side into the water. I resist, thrust wildly,
struggle, but without success. It is important to state that also
during this time I continue to receive very strong blows to the abdomen.
I am fighting with all my strength until a certain stage when they
manage to get me over the side of the boat. I am holding onto the
side, with my hands, and hanging from the side. At this stage, the
people from above me are hitting my hands and a second group of people
is pulling me from below by grabbing my legs."
— IDF Commando "No. 3",
Testimony to Turkel Committee
"Let it be emphasized that Gaza is open to the
entry of all types of goods and products. Any organization wishing
to transfer products to Gaza can do so through the existing border
crossings. There is no need for any flotillas, which in fact comprise
a provocation and have no connection to humanitarian aid."
— Main Message, Turkel Commission Report on Gaza
Flotilla
On Operation "Cast Lead" (2008-2009)
“During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did
more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any
other army in the history of warfare.”
— Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander of British
Forces in Afghanistan
“The [Goldstone] mandate was unbalanced, one-sided
and unacceptable… The weight of the report is something like
85% oriented towards very specific and harsh condemnation and conclusions
related to Israel and very lightly treats without great specificity
Hamas’ terrorism and its own atrocities.”
— Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the United Nations
“They [Hamas terrorists] dropped their weapons and ordered
me to get them out, to put them in the ambulance and take them away.
I refused, because if the IDF sees me doing this I am finished, I
cannot pick up any more wounded people. And then one of the fighters
picked up a gun and held it to my head, to force me. I still refused,
and then they allowed me to leave.”
— Mohammed Shriteh, Palestinian Red Crescent
Society
“Inside Gaza, press controlled by Hamas is heavy-handed. There
are few press freedoms inside Gaza and Hamas controls who reports
from there and where they can go. While pictures of wounded children
being brought to hospitals are clearly encouraged, we rarely see images
of Hamas fighters or their rockets being fired into Israel."
— Anderson Cooper, CNN Reporter
“Under international law, Israel is not required to allow Hamas
to play Russian roulette with its children's lives.”
— Alan Dershowitz, Harvard University Professor
of Law
“At this time we have to also recall the overwhelming
responsibility of Hamas. I intentionally say this here - Hamas is
a terrorist movement and it has to be denounced as such.”
— Louis Michel, European Commissioner for
Development and Humanitarian Aid
On Operation Summer Rain (2006)
“When Cpl. Gilad Shalit was abducted by the military wing of
Mr. Haniyeh's Hamas movement last weekend, his administration faced
a choice. It could behave like a civilized government — and
work to free the hostage — or align itself with a terrorist
operation. It chose the latter. Hamas government officials endorsed
the militants' demand that Israel release Palestinian prisoners it
has legally arrested in exchange for a soldier who was attacked while
guarding Israeli territory. Hamas justified this position by citing
the terrorist movement Hizballah, which has extracted prisoners from
Israel in exchange for hostages, as well as governments that exchange
POWs in wartime. Fair enough. But if Hamas wants to be equated with
Hizballah or define itself as at war with Israel, then Israel has
every right to try to destroy the Islamic movement's military capacity,
to capture its leaders...and to topple its government. Isn't that
what happens in war?”
— Editorial, Washington Post (July 1, 2006)
“Hamas faced its first concrete choice this
week between its ambition to govern the West Bank and Gaza and its
extremist commitment to terrorism -- and it chose to side with the
suicide bombers. The sickening Passover attack at a Tel Aviv restaurant
Monday, which killed nine Israelis and injured dozens, was carried
out by Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed extremist group that refuses
to observe the shaky cease-fire Hamas has followed for more than a
year. Yet, though the attack violated its own policy and undermined
its interests, several of Hamas's spokesmen quickly defended it. The
result was to put the Palestinian government on record as an outlaw
and to raise dangerously the chances of a major new outbreak of Middle
East violence.”
— Editorial, Washington Post (April 19, 2006)
In Israel
“Israel plans to invest significant amounts
in infrastructure that will increase the accessibility of holy sites
to all worshippers. By doing so it aims to honor and allow freedom
of worship to all, irrespective of their faith, and protect the holy
sites. There is no violation of Muslim or Christian religious rights
in any holy place.”
—Shimon Peres, Israeli President
“I cannot argue with feelings. I can tell you
that we want to work together with the Jewish majority for the betterment
of all of Israel. Religiously, politically and socially, we want to
remain part of the State of Israel.”
—Sheikh Hasham Abed Elrahman, Umm el-Fahm
Mayor
In Palestinian Territories
“[Palestinian ambulance drivers] would coordinate with the
Israelis before we pick up patients, because they have all our names,
and our IDs, so they would not shoot at us.”
—Mohammed Shriteh, Palestinian Red Crescent
Society
“I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas
rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they
want to live in peace in Gaza.”
—Sheik Abu Saqer, Jihadia Salafiya Leader
“Inside Gaza, press controlled by Hamas is
heavy-handed. There are few press freedoms inside Gaza and Hamas controls
who reports from there and where they can go. While pictures of wounded
children being brought to hospitals are clearly encouraged, we rarely
see images of Hamas fighters or their rockets being fired into Israel.”
—Anderson Cooper, CNN Reporter
“We were filming the beginning of the demonstration.
Suddenly, a van pulled in hurriedly. Inside, there were Fatah militants.
They gave their orders and even distributed Molotov cocktails. We
were filming. But these images, you will never see. In a few seconds,
all those youngsters surrounded us, threatened us, and then took us
away to the police station. There, we identified ourselves but we
were compelled to delete the controversial pictures. The Palestinian
Police calmed the situation but censored our pictures. We now have
the proof that those riots are no longer spontaneous. All the orders
came from the Palestinian hierarchy.””
—Jean Pierre Martin, Belgian Television
RTL-TV1 Reporter
“We fear the Palestinian Authority takes advantage of the focus
of international media on the American riposte to restrain more and
more the right to free information”
—Robert Menard, Reporters Without Frontiers
General
“The conflict we're trying to solve is between
two peoples.... The basis for the creation of the State of Israel
is that it was created for the Jewish people. [The Palestinian] state
will be the answer to all Palestinians including the refugees. Putting
an end to [right of return] claims means fulfilling [the] national
right for all.”
—Tzipi Livni, Israeli Foreign Minister
“I would love to be involved in a useful conference
that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around
the globe... [Durban II though] is hypocritical and counterproductive”
—Barack Obama, U.S. President
“I wish Israel did not need defensive weapons
of mass destruction or the region’s most powerful defense forces.
I wish the world had not driven the Jewish State into allocating its
limited resources away from its universities and toward its military,
but survival must come first, and Israel’s military strength
is the key to its survival. Anyone who believes that survival can
be assured by moral superiority alone must remember the Warsaw Ghetto
and the Treblinka gas chambers.”
—Alan Dershowitz, Harvard University Professor
of Law
"That [Iranian nuclear] program must be stopped. The danger
or letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it."
— Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain
“The leaked [diplomatic cables] show that the
entire world, not just Israel, is panicked over the Iranian nuclear
program. Iran poses the greatest clear and present danger to the stability
of the world, and the world has to act to remove this malignant tumor.”
— Steve Plocker, Yediot Ahronoth
“[Iran] is an octopus whose tentacles reach
out insidiously to manipulate, foment, and undermine the best laid
plan of regional moderates… Iran’s tentacles include its
allies Qatar and Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian
territories.”
— Jordanian Officials to US State Department, WikiLeaks
"You have a President of Iran that threatens to wipe a democracy,
and one of America's strongest allies on the planet, wipe it from
the planet. Now if that isn't a wake up call to the rest of the world,
I dont know what is?"
— Shelley Berkley, US Representative (D-NV)
“We are absolutely clear that we are ready,
and will push for, further sanctions against Iran....We will work
through the United Nations to achieve this. We are prepared also to
have tougher European sanctions. We want to make it clear that we
do not support the nuclear ambitions of that country.”
— Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister
“Iran is trying to acquire a nuclear bomb. I say to the French,
it’s unacceptable.”
— Nicolas Sarkozy, French President
"[Ahmadinejad] is a racist and a Holocaust denier who doesn't
conceal his intention to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth."
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“Whoever still needed indisputable proof that
Iran continues to send weapons to terror organizations got it today
in a clear and unequivocal manner. Iran sends these weapons to terror
organizations in order to hit Israeli cities and kill civilians.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister on siezure of the Francop ship laden with rockets
and ammunition
“But the true realism is that Iran is a menace
— potentially a great one — and that its Revolutionary
Guard is engaged in the dirty business of killing Americans and others.
The fact that the Bush administration says so does not make it otherwise.
The Senate's resolution [to label the al-Quds Force of Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization] was a necessary
step toward tightening sanctions on Iran — a way to avoid war,
not the overture to one.”
— Richard Cohen, Washington Post
On Democracy
"In accordance with the resolutions of the United
Nations, the State of Israel is a Jewish state. In accordance with
the basic principles on which it was established, the State of Israel
is a democracy. There is no contradiction between Israel's character
as a Jewish state and its character as a democracy. The existence
of a Jewish state does not contravene democratic values, nor does
it in any way infringe on the principle of freedom or the principle
of civic equality."
— "The Kinneret Agreement", The
Committee for National Responsibility
"It is not wise or right to say that the [loyalty
oath] proposal is fascist or anti-democratic. It is not.... A law
may be an indication of an undesirable process, but the labels of
'antidemocratic' and 'fascist' are not helpful."
— Ruth Gavison, Hebrew University
"We expect anyone wishing to become an Israeli
citizen to recognize Israel as the Jewish nation state and a democratic
state... The State of Israel was not established as 'just another
state'- it was founded as the sovereign state of the Jewish people
in their historic homeland; and as a democratic nation, whose citizens,
Jews and non-Jews, enjoy full civil equality."
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“The Israeli regime is not Apartheid. It is a unique case of Democracy.”
— Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African
Interior Minister
On Peace Initiatives
"I said that we are willing and we want to promote
the peace process with the Palestinians. I have said that the first
two components of this peace process are mutual recognition and security.
If I may quote myself from upon this platform, I have said numerous
times that we need real security arrangements. Not only because they
sustain peace, but also because they ensure our security in the event
that peace unravels"
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
"We left Lebanon, Hezbollah came in. We left
Gaza... and Iran walked in. We need to have some safeguards that we
do not repeat this a third time, becuase obviously the security of
the nation is at stake, and the security of our people, the security
of peace, is at stake.... The conclusion of a formal peace doesn't
guarantee the continuation of that peace. But the security arrangements
that are there they help buttress the peace and they also protect
us in case peace unravels, in case Iran walks in or tries to walk
in.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
(on keeping an Israeli presence in the West Bank's Jordan Valley)
"I remind you that the peace between Israel and Egypt has endured
for over three decades and our goal is to ensure that these relations
continue."
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
"We need to understand that Israel's security is sometimes more
important than political agreements. We must not fool ourselves, and
better face reality as it is – not in a naïve manner."
— Yaakov Amidror, former director IDF Research
& Assessment Division (in reference to Egypt's 2011 revolution)
"We are not trying to establish facts on the
ground through settlements and we are willing to pay a heavy price
in terms of territory for peace. We do not want to control the Palestinians
or to dictate their lives. We do not want our children, as soldiers,
to stand at checkpoints and screen civilians, and we do not want your
children’s childhood pictures to be our children, as soldiers,
putting their parents through a security check. We have no hidden
agenda. Not so long ago, we decided on disengagement. We left Gaza,
we dismantled settlements, we withdrew our army, we took risks with
the understanding that Gaza will not be the last step. We want to
take the next steps through agreement.It is clear to us that in order
to carry out change, we will have to give up parts of Israel."
— Tzipi Livni, Israeli Foreign Minister
“An armed organization [Hamas] doesn't become democratic once
they participate in the election.”
— Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister
"Nobody does Israel any service by proclaiming
its ‘right to exist.’ Israel’s right to exist, like
that of the United States, Saudi Arabia and 152 other states, is axiomatic
and unreserved. Israel’s legitimacy is not suspended in midair
awaiting acknowledgement....There is certainly no other state, big
or small, young or old, that would consider mere recognition of its
‘right to exist’ a favor, or a negotiable concession.”
— Abba Eban, Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs
and Security
"If we lose a war, that's the end forever--and we disappear from the earth. If one fails to understand this, then one fails to understand obstinacy. We intend to remain alive. Our neighbors want to see us dead. This is not a question that leaves much room for compromise."
— Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister (New York Times, December 9, 1978)
"Calling Jerusalem a settlement is a misinterpretation,
an insult to the city. It is incomprehensible that they are mixing
questions of private rights, international law and politics. [The
hotel was built] on private land, the development of which has nothing
to do with diplomacy."
— Yigal Palmor, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman
"No democratic government would impose a ban
on Jews purchasing private property… Just as Arabs can buy property
in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Jews can buy property in predominantly
Arab neighborhoods."
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
"Israel plans to invest significant amounts
in infrastructure that will increase the accessibility of holy sites
to all worshippers. By doing so it aims to honor and allow freedom
of worship to all, irrespective of their faith, and protect the holy
sites. There is no violation of Muslim or Christian religious rights
in any holy place."
— Shimon Peres, Israeli President
"At the Camp David summit, the Palestinian
leadership rejected an Israeli proposal to share sovereignty [over
Jerusalem]. We continue to reject this offer. We cannot compromise
on Jerusalem."
— Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority President
"[Israel is digging under the Temple Mount
in order to] show a fabricated heritage that might help them to deceive
foreign visitors into believing Jerusalem as a historical place of
the Jews."
— Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, Al-Aksa Foundation Director
“I expect the international community to sharply and unequivocally
condemn this murder, the murder of children ... There is no justification
and there can be neither excuse nor forgiveness for the murder of
children ... This requires [more than] unequivocal condemnation. This
requires a halt to the [Palestinian] incitement. I demand that the
Palestinian Authority stop the incitement that is conducted on a daily
basis in their schools, mosques and the media under their control.
The time has come to stop the incitement and begin educating their
people for peace.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“Direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians have been and still remain the only way forward to resolve
the longstanding conflict in our region. Therefore, the resolution
before [the Security Council] should never have been submitted. Instead
the international community and the Security Council should have called
upon the Palestinian leadership - in a clear and resolute voice -
to immediately return to the negotiating table without preconditions
and to renew direct negotiations.”
— Meron Reuben, Israeli Ambassador to the
United Nations
“Israelis and Palestinians have many differences between them.
But there is only one way to resolve those differences - a negotiated
settlement, not through unilateral steps.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“There is no substitute for face-to-face discussion and, ultimately,
for an agreement that leads to a just and lasting peace That is the
only path that will lead to the fulfillment of the Palestinian national
aspirations and the necessary outcome of two states for two peoples....
Nor is it viable to build the institutions of a future state without
the negotiations that will ultimately create it.”
— Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State
“It's easy enough for global leaders to issue
flowery appeals for action on the Middle East or to imply that progress
would be possible if only the United States used its leverage with
Israel. The stubborn reality is that there can be no movement toward
peace until a Palestinian leadership appears that is ready to accept
a two-state soluiton.”
— Editorial, Washington Post
“The economic track is not a substitute for
political negotiations, it’s a complement to it...If we have
a strong Israeli-Palestinian economic relationship, that’s a
strong foundation for peace.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“I share with [President Obama] very much the desire to move
the peace process forward. And I want to start peace negotiations
with the Palestinians immediately.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“We are not trying to establish facts on the
ground through settlements and we are willing to pay a heavy price
in terms of territory for peace. We do not want to control the Palestinians
or to dictate their lives. We do not want our children, as soldiers,
to stand at checkpoints and screen civilians, and we do not want your
children’s childhood pictures to be our children, as soldiers,
putting their parents through a security check. We have no hidden
agenda. Not so long ago, we decided on disengagement. We left Gaza,
we dismantled settlements, we withdrew our army, we took risks with
the understanding that Gaza will not be the last step. We want to
take the next steps through agreement.It is clear to us that in order
to carry out change, we will have to give up parts of Israel.”
— Tzipi Livni, Israeli Foreign Minister
“Please be assured of my solidarity with you [the Palestinians]
in the immense work of rebuilding which now lies ahead and my prayers
that the embargo will soon be lifted.”
— Pope Benedict XVI
“The 'Jewish state.' What is a 'Jewish state?' We call it,
the 'State of Israel'. You can call yourselves whatever you want.
But I will not accept it.”
— Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority President
“I cannot argue with feelings. I can tell you
that we want to work together with the Jewish majority for the betterment
of all of Israel. Religiously, politically and socially, we want to
remain part of the State of Israel.”
—Sheikh Hasham Abed Elrahman, Umm el-Fahm
Mayor
“Today, the Palestinian people live in economic stagnation,
made worse by official corruption. A Palestinian state will require
a vibrant economy, where honest enterprise is encouraged by honest
government....If Palestinians embrace democracy, confront corruption
and firmly reject terror, they can count on American support for the
creation of a provisional state of Palestine.”
— George W. Bush, U.S. President
“The conflict we're trying to solve is between
two peoples.... The basis for the creation of the State of Israel
is that it was created for the Jewish people. [The Palestinian] state
will be the answer to all Palestinians including the refugees. Putting
an end to [right of return] claims means fulfilling [the] national
right for all.”
— Tzipi Livni, Israeli Foreign Minister
“[The US and Israel] share the same goals and we face the same threats.
The common goal is peace. Everybody in Israel, as in the United States,
wants peace.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“I extend my hand in peace to Mahmoud Abbas, elected President
of the Palestinian Authority. On behalf of the State of Israel, we
are willing to negotiate with a Palestinian Authority.”
— Ehud Olmert, Israeli Prime Minister
“Palestine means Palestine in its entirety - from the [Mediterranean]
Sea to the [Jordan] River, from Ras Al-Naqura to Rafah. We cannot
give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the
Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch.”
— Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas Co-Founder
On Hezbollah
“Hezbollah are liars; they are despicable. They said they would
never turn their arms on the Lebanese, but they have.”
— Nawal al-Meouchi, Lebanese Citizen
“Hizballah’s consistent pattern of intentionally
placing its fighters and weapons among civilians shows that Hizballah
was well aware of the civilian casualties that would ensue [from this
activity.]"
— Intelligence and Terrorism Center at the Israeli
Center for Special Studies
“To the south, along the curve of the coast,
Hizballah is launching Katyushas, but I’m loath to say too much
about them. The 'Party of God' has a copy of every journalist’s
passport, and they’ve already hassled a number of us and threatened
one.”
— Christopher Albritton, Time Magazine
On
Second Lebanon War (2006)
“The criticism that Israeli attacks aimed at
Hezbollah are disproportionate is lazy and facile in several ways,
especially in implying a moral relativism between the two sides that
does not exist. This is not the contest between misguided equals that
many in the West seem to see. One is the region’s lone democracy,
which for much of its existence has faced a very real existential
threat and would like, if possible, to live in peace with its neighbours.
The other is a terrorist organization, bent on preventing such a future.”
— Editorial, London Times
“Lobbing rockets blindly into civilian areas is without doubt
a war crime.”
— Kenneth Roth, 'Human Rights Watch' Director
“A careful look at aerial satellite photos
of the areas targeted by Israel in Beirut shows that certain specific
buildings housing Hizballah command centers in the city’s southern
suburbs have been singled out. Most of the rest of Beirut, apart from
strategic sites such as airport runways used to ferry Hizballah weapons
in and out of Lebanon, has been left pretty much untouched.”
— Tom Gross, National Pos
“There is no doubt that the [Israeli] bombs there are hitting
Hizballah facilities.”
— Nic Robertson, CNN
"It’s strange how the focus in these missions
is not to succeed, hit the target precisely, but rather – not
to make any mistakes. The message is clear all the way from the Squadron
commander to the last pilot. One mistake can jeopardize the whole
war... Hitting the target is expected, no misses are acceptable."
— Israeli Air Force Pilot
“[Professors must] resist the allure of certitude,
the temptation to use the podium as an ideological platform, to indoctrinate
a captive audience, to play favorites with the like-minded, and silence
the others.”
—Lee Bollinger, University of Columbia President
“Apartheid' is used in this case ['Israel Apartheid
Week'] and elsewhere because it comes easily to hand: it is a lazy
label for the complexities of the Middle East conflict. It is also
used because, if it can be made to stick, then Israel can be made
to appear to be as vile as was apartheid South Africa and seeking
its destruction can be presented to the world as an equally moral
cause.”
—Benjamin Pogrund, South African Apartheid
Opponent
“We were filming the beginning of the demonstration.
Suddenly, a van pulled in hurriedly. Inside, there were Fatah militants.
They gave their orders and even distributed Molotov cocktails. We
were filming. But these images, you will never see. In a few seconds,
all those youngsters surrounded us, threatened us, and then took us
away to the police station. There, we identified ourselves but we
were compelled to delete the controversial pictures. The Palestinian
Police calmed the situation but censored our pictures. We now have
the proof that those riots are no longer spontaneous. All the orders
came from the Palestinian hierarchy.”
—Jean Pierre Martin, Belgian Television
RTL-TV1 Reporter
“No newspaper would write, ‘Militants
struck the World Trade Center yesterday,’ or say, ‘They
may think of themselves as freedom fighters, and who are we to judge,
we’re news people.’”
— Clifford May, Middle East Information Network
“The calculated bombing of students in a university
cafeteria, or of families gathered in an ice cream parlor, cries out
to be called what it is….I wanted to avoid the political meaning
that comes with ‘terrorism,’ but I couldn’t pretend
that the word had no usage at all in plain English.”
— James Bennet, New York Times Jerusalem
Bureau Chief
“By my own estimate, over 95 percent of the TV pictures going
out on satellite every evening to the various foreign and Israeli
channels are supplied by Palestinian film crews. The two principle
agencies in the video news market, APTN and Reuters TV, run a whole
network of Palestinian stringers, freelancers and fixers all over
the territories to provide instant footage of the events. These crews
obviously identify emotionally and politically with the intifada and,
in the ‘best’ case, they simply don’t dare film
anything that could embarrass the Palestinian Authority. So the cameras
are angled to show a tainted view of the Israeli army’s actions,
never focus on the Palestinian gunmen and diligently produce a very
specific kind of close-up of the situation on the ground.”
—Ehud Ya'ari, Jerusalem Report
Egypt
“The only people in Egypt who are committed to peace are the
people in Mubarak’s inner circle, and if the next president
is not one of them, we are going to be in trouble.”
—Eli Shaked, former Israeli Ambassador to
Egypt
“I remind you that the peace between Israel and Egypt has endured
for over three decades and our goal is to ensure that these relations
continue.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“It is one of Egypt’s legitimate rights
to place a barrier that prevents the harm from the tunnels under Rafah,
which are used to smuggle drugs and other (contraband) that threaten
Egypt’s stability. Those who oppose building this wall are violating
the commands of Islamic Law.”
—Islamic Research Council, Al-Azhar
University in Egypt
Saudi Arabia
“Saudi Arabia is active at every level of the
terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot soldier,
from ideologist to cheerleader... Saudi Arabis supports our enemies
and attacks our allies.”
—Laurent Murawiec, RAND Corporation
“If I could somehow snap my fingers and cut off the funding
[to terrorists] from one country, it would be Saudi Arabia.”
—Stuart Levey, Under Secretary
for Terrorist & Financial Intelligence, Department of
the Treasury
“Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source
of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.”
—US State Department Cable, WikiLeaks
United States
“Barack Obama will be remembered as the president who 'lost'
Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, and during whose tenure America's alliances
in the Middle East crumbled.”
—Aluf Benn, Haaretz Chief Diplomatic Correspondant
“I think it's absolutely clear to say, number one, that its
been American policy for many years that settlements were illegitimate
and it is the continuing goal and highest priority of the Obama administration
to keep working toward a two-state solution with both Israelis and
Palestinians.”
—Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
“Today, the Palestinian people live in economic
stagnation, made worse by official corruption. A Palestinian state
will require a vibrant economy, where honest enterprise is encouraged
by honest government....If Palestinians embrace democracy, confront
corruption and firmly reject terror, they can count on American support
for the creation of a provisional state of Palestine.”
—George W. Bush, US President
“The US will not have diplomatic relations
[with Hamas]...We do not believe that a democratic state can be built
when parties or candidates seek power not through the ballot box but
through terrorist activity.”
—Frederick L. Jones II, US National Security
Council Spokesperson
“The major difficulty is that the Palestinians don't accept
Israel's right to exist.”
—Tony Blair, British Prime Minister
“The responsibility for this escalation in
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rests with the Palestinians who have
yet again turned their backs on peace. Rather than take the withdrawal
of Israel from Gaza as an opportunity to build a future for their
children, they instead refused to relinquish their embrace of a culture
of hate and death.”
— Editorial, Chicago Sun Times
“I expect the international community to sharply
and unequivocally condemn this murder, the murder of children ...
There is no justification and there can be neither excuse nor forgiveness
for the murder of children ... This requires [more than] unequivocal
condemnation. This requires a halt to the [Palestinian] incitement.
I demand that the Palestinian Authority stop the incitement that is
conducted on a daily basis in their schools, mosques and the media
under their control. The time has come to stop the incitement and
begin educating their people for peace.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“Palestinians need to understand that the exercise of
self-government carries consequences. For too long, the international
community has failed to extract a price for the Palestinian recourse
to terror. That failure has not brought peace, but far worse it has
produced the "Palestine" we have now: destitute, savage
against both Israelis and moderate Arabs, and, so far, incapable of
managing its internal affairs peacefully and competently. By refusing
to render Hamas respectable, the U.S. and Israel aren't punishing
the Palestinians. They're educating them.”
— Editorial, Wall Street Journal
“We fear the Palestinian Authority takes advantage of the focus
of international media on the American riposte to restrain more and
more the right to free information”
—Robert Menard, Reporters Without Frontiers
“We are in a pointless discussion about the
marginal issue of building in the settlements.... To reach peace,
we need to discuss the issues that are really hindering peace, the
question of recognition, security, refugess and of course many other
issues..”
—Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“Calling Jerusalem a settlement is a misinterpretation,
an insult to the city. It is incomprehensible that they are mixing
questions of private rights, international law and politics. [The
hotel was built] on private land, the development of which has nothing
to do with diplomacy..”
—Yigal Palmor, Israel Ministry of Foregin
Affairs Spokesman
“The Jewish right of settlement in the [West Bank and Gaza]
is equivalent in every way to the right of the local population to
live there..”
—Eugene Rostow, former US Undersecretary
of State for Political Affairs
“If settlement-building is now concentrated
in areas that the Palestinians themselves acknowledge will remain
part of Israel in any future peace agreement, why the obsessive focus
on settlements as an ‘obstacle to peace?’”
—Yossi Klein HaLevi, Los Angeles Times
“We do not in any way equate Palestinian terrorism with Israeli
settlement activity.”
—George Mitchell & Warren Rudman, US Senators/Leaders
of Middle East Fact-Finding Mission (2000)
“The use of suicide bombing is entirely unacceptable. Nothing
can justify this..”
—Olara Otunnu, Under Secretary-General-
UN Special Representative for the protection of children in armed
conflict
“There are no words to adequately condemn the
despicable attack in Tel Aviv. Not only because it is contrary to
the interests of the Palestinian people...[but] because of the philosophy
that is behind it....A racist philosophy that is based on the cruel
principle of killing Jews because they are Jews..”
—Nazir Majali, Haaretz
“The attacks against civilians by Palestinian
armed groups are widespread, systematic and in pursuit of an explicit
policy to attack civilians. They therefore constitute crimes against
humanity under international law..”
—"Without Distinction", Amnesty International
“We have the right to practice all forms of
national struggle. We are in the phase of national liberation and
we have the right to use all means in the fight to end the occupation
until we establish the state..”
—Azzam Al-Ahmad, Senior Fatah Leader
“There is no clear profile of someone who hates
Israel and the Jewish people. They come in every shape and from every
culture. Demonstrators, rioters and stone throwers do tend to be younger,
unmarried males. But there’s a big difference between the young
men who participate in those types of disturbances and terrorists..”
—Aryeh Amit, former Jerusalem District Police
Chief
“Economic conditions and education are largely unrelated to
participation in, and support for, terrorism..”
—National Bureau of Economic Research
“Not only was the intifada a failure, but we are a total failure.
We achieved nothing in 50 years of struggle; we've achieved only our
survival.”
—Zakariya Zubeidi, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Leader
“It is deeply troubling that UNESCO allowed
itself to be manipulated by ignoring Jewish and Islamic tradition
and buying into the new Palestinian claim from 1996 that Rachel’s
Tomb should be named for Muhammad’s slave, Bilal ibn Ribah,
who was buried in Damascus..”
—Dore Gold, Former Israeli Ambassador to
the UN
“The attempt to separate the nation of Israel from its
cultural heritage is absurd... If the places where the fathers and
mothers of the Jewish nation- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Leah and
Rachel- are buried some 4,000 years ago, are not part of the Jewish
heritage, then what is? It is unfortunate that an organization that
was established with the goal of promoting the cultural preservation
of historical sites around the world, is attempting to uproot the
connection between the nation of Israel and its cultural heritage..”
—Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
“Direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians have been and still remain the only way forward to resolve
the longstanding conflict in our region. Therefore, the resolution
before [the Security Council] should never have been submitted. Instead
the international community and the Security Council should have called
upon the Palestinian leadership - in a clear and resolute voice -
to immediately return to the negotiating table without preconditions
and to renew direct negotiations..”
—Meron Reuben, Israeli Ambassador to the
United Nations
“I would love to be involved in a useful conference that
addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the
globe... [Durban II though] is hypocritical and counterproductive.”
—Barack Obama, U.S. President
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