***
This evening in
Kill
Khalid, I read that Hamas’ first signed statement was issued on
December 14, 1987. Interestingly, according to a LexisNexis search that I
completed this evening, it was not until March 4, 1988 that Hamas was mentioned
by name in an English media outlet.
That first mention came in an Associated Press
article by Nicolas Tatro. The piece was titled, “Palestinians: United In the
Street, Divided Over Peacemaking.”
Sheikh Bassam Jarrar stabbed the air with his finger and
declared that a political settlement with Israel would be
"disastrous." The Moslem religious leader said the Koran, Islam's
holy book, "forbids recognition of Israel." He argued against
cooperating with peace initiatives aimed at ending the three-month uprising in
the Israeli-occupied lands.
Jarrar's remarks, criticial of the PLO's policy of seeking a
settlement, provoked murmurs of disagreement from men sitting cross-legged
along the wall of the mosque in this village 10 miles northwest of Jerusalem. The
dispute, reflecting deep political divisions of Palestinians despite the unity
they have shown in confronting Israeli soldiers, soon grew into a shouting
match.
It cut short the gathering of more than 150 men, an informal
town hall-type meeting where the heated exchanges continued outside the mosque
under a tree despite a drizzle.
The first to challenge Jarrar, a charismatic speaker aligned
with the fundamentalist Moslem Brotherhood, was a middle-aged man in a white
headdress, who asked if there wasn't a peaceful alternative to street violence.
The 39-year-old preacher left no room for compromise and warned that anyone who
recognized the Jewish state would be considered an enemy of Islam.
"We don't have any common language with Israel. We have
nothing to demand of them. We are in a state or revolt against Israel. The
conflict should continue until victory," Jarrar said, his deep, resonant
voice cracking with emotion.
A bearded man in his 20s accused Jarrar of breaking ranks
with the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has endorsed an international
conference to discuss peace with Israel. "The PLO represents all the people. There is no Islamic
trend. There are only Moslems who support the PLO," shouted the young man,
a supporter of PLO chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization. "I
represent the Islamic trend," said Jarrar, whose full black beard
signified his fundamentalist allegiance.
A tall, muscular man rose to disagree with Jarrar's
criticism of Syria and the Soviet Union. "We are in need of Syria. There is a PLO delegation
visiting Damascus now to create a good atmosphere for fighting Israel We should
support an alliance with Syria," he said.
The man, whose comments indicated he was a supporter of the
pro-Soviet Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine faction, blamed
Jarrar for provoking the dispute. "We have differences, it is true. But we
are all supporting the uprising and we should not discuss them now," he
said.
Jarrar attacked the PLO position, saying Arafat only had
agreed to a conference after losing his independent base in Lebanon, being
driven out of Beirut by Israel and out of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli
by Syria.
"It's impossible to have a peaceful alternative while
we are in a weak position," Jarrar said. "I will not say there is a
possibility of a political solution. It would be disastrous under the current
conditions."
The infighting was also reflected in graffitti spray-painted
on walls near the mosque.
One slogan attacking the peace mission of Secretary of
State George Shultz was signed by the Democratic Front and another
anti-occupation slogan by "Hamas," which means fervor in Arabic and
is used by the Moslem Brothers, a movement founded in Egypt in 1929 by a school
teacher named Hassan Al Banna.
Israeli officials, especially those of the right-wing Likud
Bloc, have stressed the Islamic influence in the ongoing riots. They have
argued that the fundamentalists threaten Western nations as well as Israel.
The influence of the fundamentalists has grown since the
violence began Dec. 8. Islamic groups are especially strong in the occupied
Gaza Strip, where there are more refugee camps than in the West Bank and
poverty is widespread.
But PLO supporters appear to be in the vast majority in the
West Bank, which Israel also seized in the 1967 Middle East war, and even
Jarrar said the riots were not an "uprising of the mosques," as he
said some Israeli leaders had claimed. "Israel wants to frighten the West
by saying the fundamentalists are playing an active role. Israel wants to
justify its oppression by saying they are fighting fundamentalists," Jarrar
said.
He said the riots had damaged Israel's image in the world,
hurt the Israeli economy by robbing it of Arab labor and tourism, and prevented
the military government in the occupied lands from imposing new and more harsh
measures. "They thought we were sleeping or dead," Jarrar said.
"If there is no other benefit of the uprising it is to show that we reject
oppression."
If anyone knows of an earlier mention of Hamas, by name,
leave a comment or send an email.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Anonymous
