Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin
December 12, 2005

Hamas Election Video: Armed
struggle until destruction of Israel
By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
Palestinian Media Watch:
p:+972 2 625 4140e: pmw@pmw.org.il
f: +972 2 624 2803w: www.pmw.org.il

In a new Hamas pre-election video, the terror organization again declares
that it will not give up its armed struggle until Israel is destroyed.

The Hamas message likewise celebrates its love of death as superior to the
Israeli love of life. It also expresses support for those Israeli Arabs that
wish to destroy Israel "from the interior." Hamas looks forward to a day
when its flag will fly over not only Jerusalem, but over all Israeli cities,
including Acre and Haifa.

The release of the new video on the Hamas website, reiterating its goal of
destroying Israel, coincides with two polls this week showing Hamas turning
into a major political force, with between 32% and 45% of Palestinians
saying they will vote for Hamas in January's parliamentary elections. What
are the implications for peace, should nearly 50% of the Palestinian
Authority parliament be open supporters of Israel's destruction?

It will be interesting to see if the continuing Hamas election campaign
calling for Israel's destruction will prompt a change in United States or
European Union policy. The US State Department has made clear that while it
continues to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars of support to the PA,
it will make no demands on it to prevent the Hamas from participating in the
upcoming elections. The EU and United Nations have also agreed that Hamas
can participate in the elections.

To view the Hamas election video calling for Israel's destruction, click
here
www.pmw.org.il/asx/PMW_Hamas061205.asx

The following are the words on the new Hamas video:

"We succeeded, with Allah's grace, to raise an ideological generation that
loves death like our enemies love life. We will not abandon the way of Jihad
and Shahada [Martyrdom] as long as one inch of our holy land is in the hands
of the Jews.

"Congratulations to our people of 1948 [Israeli Arabs] on the liberation of
Gaza. You wish to destroy them [the Israelis] from the interior. We will
never forget you, and never leave you. A day will come when our flag will
fly above all the quarters of our land. Our flag will fly on the minarets of
Jerusalem, and the walls of Acre, and the quarters of Haifa."
[Hamas website, December 12, 2005]

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