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Myths & Facts Online - Arab/Muslim Attitudes Toward Israel

The desire for peaceful relations between Jews and Arabs sometimes leads people to overlook public comments by Arab officials and media publications that are often incendiary and sometimes outright anti-Semitic. Frequently, more moderate tones are adopted when speaking to Western audiences, but more accurate and heartfelt views are expressed in Arabic to the speaker’s constituents. The following is just a tiny sample of some of the remarks that have been made regarding Israel and the Jews. They are included here because they demonstrate the level of hostility and true beliefs of many Arabs and Muslims. Of course, not all Arabs and Muslims subscribe to these views, but the examples are not random, they are beliefs held by important officials and disseminated by major media. They are also included because one of the lessons of the Holocaust was that people of good will are often unwilling to believe that people who threaten evil will in fact carry out their malevolent intentions.

Anti-Semitism
Blood Libel
Peace
Phased Plan & the Destruction of Israel
Sanctioning Violence
Radical Islam

Anti-Semitism

“They [Jews] tried to kill the principals of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”

— Syrian President Bashar Assad, during the visit to Syria of Pope John Paul II
New York Post, May 6, 2001

“The Jewish nation, it is known, from the dawn of history, from the time Allah created them, lives by scheme and deceit.”

— PA Communications Minister, Imud Falouji
Palestinian television, August 8, 2002

“We know that the Jews have manipulated the Sept. 11 incidents and turned American public opinion against Arabs and Muslims....We still ask ourselves: Who has benefited from Sept. 11 attacks? I think they (the Jews) were the protagonists of such attacks.”

— Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef in Assyasah (Kuwait)
translation from Saudi magazine ’Ain-Al-Yaqin, November 29, 2002

“They succeeded in gaining control in most of the [world’s] most powerful states, and they — a tiny community — became a world power. But 1.3 billion Muslims must not be defeated by a few million Jews. A way must be found....The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews are in control of the world via their proxies. They lead others to fight and die for them....If we are weak, no one will support us. The Israelis respect only the strong, and we must therefore all unite.”

— Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammad
at the opening of the Organization of Islamic States summit
October 16, 2003

“O God, strengthen Islam and Muslims, humiliate infidelity and infidels. O God, destroy your enemies, the Jewish and crusader enemies of Islam.”

— Shaykh Jamal Shakir
Sermon from King Abdallah mosque in Amman
Amman Jordan Television Channel 1 in Arabic
March 5, 2004

“The Prophet said: the Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: oh servant of Allah, oh Muslim this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him! Why is there this malice? Because there are none who love the Jews on the face of the earth: not man, not rock, and not tree; everything hates them. They destroy everything, they destroy the trees and destroy the houses. Everything wants vengeance on the Jews, on these pigs on the face of the earth, and the day of our victory, Allah willing, will come.”

— Shaykh Ibrahim Mudayris
Palestine Authority TV
September 10, 2004

“The Zionist attempts to transmit dangerous diseases like AIDS through exports to Arab countries.”

— Al-Manar (Hezbollah TV)
November 23, 2004

“The Jews are the cancer spreading all over the world...the Jews are a virus like AIDS hitting humankind...Jews are responsible for all wars and conflicts....”

— Sermon by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris
Palestine Authority TV
May 13, 2005

“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.”

— Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah
Quoted in Amal Saad-Ghorayeb,
Hizbullah: Politics and Religion, London, 2002, p. 170.

“Jews subscribe to a belief in racial superiority...Their religion even teaches them to call down curses upon the worship places on non-Jews whenever they pass by them! They arrogantly refer to anyone who is not Jewish as ‘gentiles,’ equating them with sin. ”

— “What Islam Is All About” textbook,
IBTS, pg. 188, target readers: Grades 3-6

“Allah revealed to Muhammed that the Jews had changed their Book, the Torah, killed their own prophets and disobeyed Allah. And the Jews did not want the Arabs to know about these shameful things.”

— “Mercy to Mankind” textbook,
IQRA, pg. 23, target readers: Grades 5-6

 

“After telling the governor lies about Jesus and making him think that Prophet Jesus was starting a rebeliion against Rome, the Jews were finally able to get an order for his execution. The Koran states that the Jews did not kill Jesus nor did they crucify him. Allah states, however, that the Hews thought they did it.”

— “What Islam Is All About” textbook
IBTS, pg. 231, target readers: Grade 6-8

“Many lead such decadent and immoral lives that lying, alcohol, nudity, pornography, racism, foul language, premarital sex, homosexuality and everything else are accepted in their [Jewish & Christian] society, churches, and synagogues.”

— “What Islam Is All About” textbook
QIBTS, pg. 188, target readers: Grades 3-6

“The reasons for Jewish hostility toward the Muslims of 7th century Medina lies in their general characteristics described in the Koran.” Example: “You will find the most implacable of men in their enmity to the faithful are the Jews and the pagans.”

— “The Messenger of Allah” textbook
IQRA, pg. 34, target readers: Grades 6-9

“Their famous book, the existence of which is denied by the reasonable people among them, the so called Protocols of the Elders of Zion - but we call it the Protocols of the Idiots of Zion... In this book, the Jews included their plan to besiege the whole world by land, by air, by sea, by ideology, by economy, and by the media, as is happening today, my brothers in the nation of the Prophet Muhammad. The Jews today are weaving their spider webs in order to encircle our nation like a bracelet encircles the wrist, and in order to spread corruption throughout the world. ”

—Hamas Friday Sermon
Al-Aqsa TV, April 3, 2009

“The loathsome occupation in Palestine - its land and its holy places - by these new Mongols and what they are perpetrating upon this holy, blessed and pure land - killing, assassination, destruction, confiscation, Judaization, harassment and splitting the homeland - are clear proof of [unintelligible word - Ed.] hostility, of incomparable racism, and of Nazism of the 20th century. The Jews, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger! Enemies of humanity in general, and of Palestinians in particular...”

—PA TV Sermon
PA TV (Fatah), January 29, 2010

 

 

Blood Libel

“The Talmud says that if a Jew does not drink every year the blood of a non-Jewish man, he will be damned for eternity.”

— Saudi Arabian delegate Marouf al-Dawalibi
before the UN Human Rights Commission
conference on religious tolerance
December 5, 1984

“During this holiday [Purim], the Jew must prepare very special pastries, the filling of which is not only costly and rare –– it cannot be found at all on the local and international markets....For this holiday, the Jewish people must obtain human blood so that their clerics can prepare the holiday pastries....Before I go into the details, I would like to clarify that the Jews’ spilling human blood to prepare pastry for their holidays is a well-established fact, historically and legally, all throughout history. This was one of the main reasons for the persecution and exile that were their lot in Europe and Asia at various times....during the holiday, the Jews wear carnival-style masks and costumes and overindulge in drinking alcohol, prostitution, and adultery.....”

— Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma of King Faysal University
Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh, March 10, 2002

“Christian Europe showed enmity toward the Jews when it transpired that their rabbis craftily hunt anyone walking alone, [tempting] him to enter their house of worship. Then they take his blood to use for baked goods for their holidays, as part of their ritual.”

— Columnist Dr. Muhammad bin S’ad Al-Shwey’ir,
Al-Jazirah
(Saudi Arabia), September 6, 2002

Peace

The 60th anniversary of the “false regime that is occupying Palestine” is a “black day for humanity, freedom and human rights.”

— outgoing Iranian Majlis speaker Haddad Adel
Press TV (Iran), May 13, 2008

“Khomeini did not regard the opposition to the Zionist regime, and the support for the rights of the Palestinian people, as [duties that are relevant] only for a certain time... Israel is ready to collapse owing to internal problems, and over the past 60 years it has not managed to establish its legitimacy... Israel has managed -- by means of violence, force, intimidation, satanic plots and widespread propoganda -- to impose itself upon the region and to create a myth that the Zionist regime is invincible. But today, the Islamic resistance [Hamas, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad] has shattered this false myth... As Khomeini said, if every Muslim pours a bucket of water over Israel, it will be washed away.”

— Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki
Iranian Foreign Ministry Conference,
Press TV (Iran) and IRNA (Iran), June 1, 2008

“Like the great Iranian nation, the [other] Muslim peoples now regard Israel as a false regime that has been imposed [on the region]. Unfortunately, however, the Arab governments do not join their peoples’ demand [for change in the region].

“The Zionist regime has no power, and is incapable of standing on its own. It is the shameless and unconditional support of the U.S., and the failure of the Islamic and Arab countries to support the Palestinians, that is preventing changes from taking place in the region... Unfortunately, many Islamic governments have failed their duty toward the Palestinian people. Had they adopted the stance of their peoples and supported the oppressed people of Palestine, the situation in the region would have been totally different... Commitment to Islamic principles, struggle against cruelty and arrogance [i.e. the U.S.], defense of oppressed nations -- in particular the Palestinians -- and enmity toward the Zionist octupus are among the [chief] mottos of the Iranian people.”

— Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
19th Anniversary of Kkomeini's death,
Press TV (Iran), June 3, 2008

“I have always rejected normalizing relations with [Israeli] women. They always invite me to their functions and I categorically refuse because I hate Israel.”


— Suha Arafat, wife of Yasser Arafat, to the Saudi Arabian woman's magazine, Sayidaty
The Guardian, May 4, 2001

“Unless the Palestine problem is settled, we shall have difficulty in protecting and safeguarding the Jews in the Arab world.”

— Syrian delegate, Faris el-Khouri,
New York Times, February 19, 1947

“The Arab world is not in a compromising mood. It’s likely, Mr. Horowitz, that your plan is rational and logical, but the fate of nations is not decided by rational logic. Nations never concede; they fight. You won’t get anything by peaceful means or compromise. You can, perhaps, get something, but only by the force of your arms. We shall try to defeat you. I am not sure we’ll succeed, but we’ll try. We were able to drive out the Crusaders, but on the other hand we lost Spain and Persia. It may be that we shall lose Palestine. But it’s too late to talk of peaceful solutions.”

— Arab League Secretary Azzam Pasha,
September 16, 1947

“[A]ll our efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Palestine problem have failed. The only way left for us is war. I will have the pleasure and honor to save Palestine.”

— Transjordan’s King Abdullah,
April 26, 1948

“The representative of the Jewish Agency told us yesterday that they were not the attackers, that the Arabs had begun the fighting. We did not deny this. We told the whole world that we were going to fight.”

— Jamal Husseini before the Security Council,
April 16, 1948

“It will be a war of annihilation. It will be a momentous massacre in history that will be talked about like the massacres of the Mongols or the Crusades.”

— Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League,
October 11, 1947

“I am not solely fighting against Israel itself. My task is to deliver the Arab world from destruction through Israel’s intrigue, which has its roots abroad. Our hatred is very strong. There is no sense in talking about peace with Israel. There is not even the smallest place for negotiations.”

— Egyptian President Nasser,
October 14, 1956

“Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united....I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation.”

— Syrian Defense Minister Hafez Assad,
May 20, 1967

“Arab policy at this stage has but two objectives. The first, the elimination of the traces of the 1967 aggression through an Israeli withdrawal from all the territories it occupied that year. The second objective is the elimination of the traces of the 1948 aggression, by the means of the elimination of the State of Israel itself. This is, however, as yet an abstract, undefined objective, and some of us have erred in commencing the latter step before the former.”

— Mohammed Heikal, a Sadat confidant and editor of the semi-official Al-Ahram,
February 25, 1971

“The Arab armies entered Palestine to protect the Palestinians from the Zionist tyranny but, instead, they abandoned them, forced them to emigrate and to leave their homeland, and threw them into prisons similar to the ghettos in which the Jews used to live.”

— PLO spokesman Mahmud Abbas (“Abu Mazen”),
Falastin a-Thaura, March 1976

“Saddam, you hero, attack Israel with chemical weapons.”

— Palestinians marching in support of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait,
Associated Press, August 12, 1990

“We will not arrest the sons of our people in order to appease Israel. Let our people rest assured that this won’t happen.”

— Chief of the PA Preventive Security in the West Bank, Jebril Rajoub,
Islamic Association for Palestine, June 9, 2001

“...Allah willing, this unjust state...Israel will be erased; this unjust state, the United States will be erased; this unjust state, Britain will be erased...Blessings to whoever waged Jihad for the sake of Allah...Blessings to whoever put a belt of explosives on his body or on his sons’ and plunged into the midst of the Jews...”

— Sermon by Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi
a few days after Yasser Arafat’s cease-fire declaration
PA Television, June 8, 2001

“Didn’t we throw mud in the face of Bill Clinton, who dared to propose a state with some adjustments? Were we honest about what we did? Were we right in what we did? No, we were not. After two years of violence, we are now calling for what we rejected.”

— Nabil Amr, ex-minister in the PA cabinet,
Quoted in the Jerusalem Report, October 21, 2002

“Just as Ramallah, Gaza, Nablus, and Jenin are Palestinian cities, so are Haifa, Nazareth, Jaffa, Ramle, Lod, Beersheba, Safed, and others Palestinian cities....The Zionist Jews are foreigners in this land. They have no right to live or settle in it. They should go somewhere else in the world to establish their state and their false entity...They must leave their homes...We do not believe in so-called ’peace with Israel’ because peace cannot be made with Satan. Israel is the greatest Satan.”

— Palestinian Christian cleric Father ’Atallah Hanna,
sermon in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Jerusalem, January 19, 2003

“Hamas will keep its weapons in its hands and will defend any part of the homeland....Our national problem is not related only to the West Bank, Gaza, and al-Quds...but to Palestine, all [the territory of] Palestine.”

    Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar
Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, July, 5, 2005

“Oh Allah, liberate our al-Aqsa Mosque from the defilement of the occupying and brutal Zionists… Oh Allah, punish the occupying Zionists and their supporters from among the corrupt infidels. Oh Allah, scatter and disperse them, and make an example of them for those who take heed.”

— Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis,
imam of Islam’s most holy mosque, Al-Haram in Mecca
Sermon on Saudi Channel 1, July 15, 2005

“Al-Qassam warriors, rain rockets on the settlers! Don’t let any Jew sleep!
The al-Aqsa Brigades will make you tremble in Haifa and Tel Aviv; they will strike you in Safed and Acre.
Because we do not distinguish between [Jewish] Palestine and [Arab] Palestine.
For [as] Jaffa is the same as Gaza, Tel-al-Zuhour [Tel Aviv] is the same as Rafah, and the Galilee is the same as Hebron.
We make no distinction between the parts of the earth of the homeland.”

— Song broadcast on Hamas radio station Sawt al-Aqsa
August 16, 2005

“We will continue our martyrdom operations inside Israel until all our lands are liberated, by God’s will....We won’t lay down our weapons as long as Jerusalem and the West Bank are under occupation.”

— Muhamemd Hijazi, commander of a Fatah- affiliated militias in the Gaza Strip
Jerusalem Post, September 12, 2005

“We will not rest and will not abandon the path of Jihad and martyrdom as long as one inch of our land remained in the hands of the Jews.”

    Raed Saed, a senior Hamas leader
Ynet News, September 19, 2005

“First of all this Palestinian land, and all the Arabic nation, is all part of the same area. In the past, there was no independent Palestinian state; there was no independent Jordanian state; and so on. There were regions called Iraq or Egypt, but they were all part of one country....Our main goal is to establish a great Islamic state, be it pan-Arabic or pan-Islamic.”

— Mahmoud al-Zahhar, Hamas leader
The Media Line, September 22, 2005

“I tell you with all honesty, we will not recognize Israel, we will not recognize Israel, we will not recognize Israel.”

— Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
October 7, 2006

“Israel is a vile entity that has been planted in our soil, and has no historical, religious or cultural legitimacy. We cannot normalize our relations with this entity. The history of this region has proven [time and again] that occupation is temporary. Thousands of years ago, the Romans occupied this land and [eventually] left. The Persians, Crusaders, and English [also] came and went. The Zionists have come, and they too will leave. [We say] no to recognizing Israel, regardless of the price we may have to pay [for our refusal].”

— Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar
Al-Ayyam, October 20, 2006

“We will never recognize Israel or cease to fight for our land. Our battle against Israel is one of resistance to occupation.”

— Hamas political chief Khalid Mashaal
address to 'The Decline of the Zionist Regime' conference
at Tehran University, Tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=169604" target="_blank">Tehran Times, May 27, 2008

 

Phased Plan & the Destruction of Israel

“If all of you [Arab States] will fight Israel, we are in favor. Palestinians will not fight alone because they don't have the ability.”

—Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority Chairman
Al-Hayat Al Jadida
Palestinian Media Watch, July 6, 2010

“This is our plan for this stage - to liberate the West Bank and Gaza, without recognizing Israel's right to a single inch of land, and without giving up the Right of Return for a single Palestinian refugee. ” [...] “Our plan for this stage is to liberate any inch of Palestinian land, and to establish a state on it. Our ultimate plan is [to have] Palestine in its entirety. I say this loud and clear so that nobody will accuse me of employing political tactics. We will not recognize the Israeli enemy.”

—Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, Hamas leader
In an interview on Future News TV
MEMRI, June 15, 2010

“We have one enemy. All our arrows and all our efforts should be aimed in a single direction – to conduct resistance against the settlement and the occupation, and to repel the Israeli injustice done to our people.”

—Mahmoud Al-Habbash, PA Minister of Religious Endowments
Sermon delivered on Palestinian Authority TV
MEMRI, February 8, 2010

“Surely, the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime... when the destruction happens will depend on how the Islamic nations approach the issue.”

— Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
Remark during meeting with the President of Mauritania
AFP, January 26, 2010

“We will never recognize Israel or cease to fight for our land. Our battle against Israel is one of resistance to occupation.”

— Khalid Mashaal, Hamas Political Chief
Address to “The Decline of the Zionist Regime” conference,
Tehran University, Press TV, May 27, 2008

“There is no doubt that Israel was collapsing and would not last much longer. The resistance [forces] of the Palestinian people and other anti-Zionist [forces] will not about quickly finish the task and crush Israel’s spider-like regime, so that [Israel’s] 60th anniversary celebrations will become a prelude to its demise.”

— Editorial in Jomhouri-ye Eslami (Iran), May 11, 2008

“I think that anyone who follows the [developments] in the world comes to the conclusion that this (i.e., the elimination of Israel) will occur with or without Iran’s intervention... It will be to Europe’s advantage, since Europe is forced to pay for some of the Zionists’ crimes... The very existence of the false Zionist regime has caused Europe great harm... The Europeans are bearing the political and economic burden of this regime... The day will come when the Muslims uproot [it]. We realize that the European governments do not want the Zionists living in Europe, but they should not foist them on the Palestinians.

“Our position against the Zionist regime is to the benefit of all nations, because this regime is a shameful stain on the body of mankind, and its crimes in Palestine are a disgrace to humanity at large. That is why we want to put an end to the [Zionists’] crimes. Today, after 60 years, the time had come to open up the black box of the Zionist regime's crimes and expose the facts...

“What is the secret of this false refime which [gives it] such immunity, and [enables it to receive] support despite all its crimes and violations of human rights and of people’s dignity? [We] must figure out what is the mission of the Zionist regime, which prompts certain European countries to support it so absolutely, and what is the mystery behind the false Zionist regime, [which causes] all truths to be sacrificed for its sake... The European nations, as peace-loving and sincere nations [that have been] victims of war, oppose the crimes of the Zionist regime.”

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Summit of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization,
Entekhab (Iran), IRNA (Iran) and Mehr (Iran), June 3, 2008

“Know that the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime -- which as years of plundering, aggression and crime to its name -- has come to the end of its road and will soon be wiped off the map of the world...Our beloved Imam [the late Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini]... the Zionist regime has lost its raison d’etre. Today, the Palestinians identify with your name, your memory, and your path. They are walking in your illuminated path, [while] the Zionist regime has reached a total dead end. With God’s grace, your wish will soon be realized, and this germ of corruption will be wiped off the face of the world.”

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Conference marking the 19th anniversary
of the death of Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini,
IRNA (Iran) and IRINN (Iran), June 3, 2008

“Israel’s days are numbered.”
“The people of the region would not miss the narrowest opportunity to annihilate this false regime.”
“The nations of the region despise this false and criminal regime.”

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Speech in Gorgan, northern Iran,
Press TV (Iran) and Aftab (Iran), May 14, 2008

“Today, certain people are about to convene in occupied Palestine in order to celebrate its anniversary. They believe that, by doing so, they are strengthening this disintegrating regime. However, the whole world will come to understand that holding these ceremonies is a sign of the weakness, backwardness, and disintegration of this regime. Otherwise, why didn’t they celebrate this regime’s 50th or 55th anniversary? Why did they come up this idea [only] now? Let me tell you, celebrating a dead man’s birthday wont improve his condition one bit. This dead man will not be resurrected by all those people who are about to convene there... [The Zionists] are a group of terrorists ans criminals who came [to Israel] according to a plan, with the support of foreigners, and who have no roots in Palestine. Sooner or later, they will be driven out by the people of Palestine... From the point of view of the nations in the region, the Zionist regime does not even exist... The era of Zionist writings, Zionist bullying policies and the Zionist political mechanism has come to an end.”

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Press Conference, May 13, 2008
IRINN (Iran) and Press TV (Iran)

“The [very] basis for the existence of the Zionist regime is in question. This oppressive and false regime is about to fade and collapse... Those who think that they can revive this stinking corpse by celebrating its anniversary are totally wrong. The [leaders] who attend these celebrations should know that they will go down [in history as accomplices] of the Zionist criminals... Having received a slap in the face from the Lebanese people, this regime is now coming to its end like a dead fish... If countries in the region continue to [support] Israel they will be bruned by the wrath of the nations.”

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Speech to Majlis members, Emrooz (Iran), May 10, 2008

“The goal of the current intifada is a Palestinian state, but afterwards, there will be even greater things for which to strive. There is no room for more than one state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.”

— Marwan Bargouti, Tanzim leader,
interview with the New Yorker in 2001

“I want to say that this is our Palestine, from Metulla [Israel’s northernmost city] to Rafiah [Southern border] and to Aqaba [Israel’s southernmost point], from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea; whether they want it or not.”

— Dr. Jareer Al-Kidwah, advisor to President Arafat,
PA TV broadcast, November 29, 2000

“If we agree to declare our state over what is now 22 percent of Palestine, meaning the West Bank and Gaza, our ultimate goal is the liberation of all historic Palestine from the River to the Sea...We distinguish the strategic, long-term goals from the political phased goals, which we are compelled to temporarily accept due to international pressure.”

— Faisal al-Husseini,
Al-Arabi, June 24, 2001

“Israel is much smaller than Iran in land mass, and therefore far more vulnerable to nuclear attack.”

— Former Iranian President Ali Rafsanjani,
quoted in Jerusalem Report, March 11, 2002

“We defeated the Crusaders 800 years ago and we will defeat the enemies of Islam today.”

— Nazareth Deputy Mayor Salman Abu Ahmed,
quoted in Jerusalem Report, March 4, 2002

“...we shall return to the 1967 borders, but it does not mean that we have given up on Jerusalem and Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramla, Nayanyah [Al-Zuhour] and Tel Aviv [Tel Al-Rabia]. Never. We shall return to every village we had been expelled from, by Allah’s will....Our approval to return to the 1967 borders is not a concession for our other rights. No!..this generation might not achieve this stage, but generations will come, and the land of Palestine...will demand that the Palestinians return the way Muhammad returned there, as a conqueror.”

— Sheikh Ibrahim Mudyris,
Friday sermon, February 4, 2005

“Hamas would ‘definitely not’ be prepared for coexistence with Israel should the IDF retreat to its 1967 borders. It can be a temporary solution, for a maximum of 5 to 10 years. But in the end Palestine must return to become Muslim, and in the long term Israel will disappear from the face of the earth.”

Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar
Yediot Ah
aronot, June 24, 2005

“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.”

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar
Al-Manar TV, January 25, 2006

Our mission is to liberate Jerusalem and purify the al-Aqsa Mosque. Islam goes forward because its power comes from Allah and it will continue to advance in spite of its opposers.”

Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal
Ynetnews.com, February 14, 2006

“Hamas is clear on this matter. Hamas believes that historical Palestine, that is, all of Palestine, belongs to the Palestinian people...We say that all of Palestine, from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea, belongs to the Palestinians. They have a legitimate right to this land...We use one voice in all forums. But we also say that we are dealing realistically with the current phase — an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty over the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. That is what we presented to our people in our elections platform...Yes, it is a temporary and phased solution. This is not a permanent solution.”

— Hamas official Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook
Special Dispatch MEMRITV, February 26, 2006

I dream of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it.”

— Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar
Xinhua, April 1, 2006

“We [aim to liberate] all our lands... If we have the option, we will establish a state on every inch of land within the 1967 [borders], but this does not by any means imply that we will relinquish our right to all the Palestinian lands. We want all of Palestine from [Ras] Naqura to Rafah, and from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river.”

— PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar
Al-Ayyam (PA), October 21, 2006

“This is not a country of humans. These are animals and a group of gangs, and this country must be wiped off the face of the earth.”

— PA spokesman Ghazi Hamad
Ynet, November 22, 2006

“The generation that is fighting the Zionists today and that started the first and second intifadas is a young, highly motivated generation. This is the generation that will free Palestine.”

— Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
Ynet, December 10, 2006

“...from now on the Palestinian factions must be united in resistance and belief in God. They must prepare the ground for the removal of the Zionists from the holy land of Palestine until not a single piece is occupied.”

— Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Ynet, March 6, 2007

“The Palestinian woman bids her son farewell, and says to him: "Son, go and don't be a coward. Go, and fight the Jews." He bids her farewell and carries out a martyrdom operation. What did this Palestinian woman say when she was asked for her opinion, after the martyrdom of her son? She said: "My son is my own flesh and blood. I love my son, but my love for Allah and His Messenger is greater than my love for my son." Yes, this is the message of the Palestinian woman, who was over seventy years old – Fatima Al-Najjar. She was over seventy years old, but she blew herself up for the sake of Allah, bringing down many criminal Zionists.”

— Dr. Ahmad Bahar (acting Speaker, Palestinian Legislative Council)
Sudan TV, April 13, 2007

“In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and in light of the American control over the world, the PLO proceeds through phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine.”

— PLO's ambassador to Lebanon, Abbas Zaki
NBN TV, April 9, 2008

“In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and in light of the American control over the world, the PLO proceeds through phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine.”

— PLO's ambassador to Lebanon, Abbas Zaki
NBN TV, April 9, 2008

“Our goal is to liberate all of Palestine, from the river to the sea, from Rosh Hanikra to Umm Al-Rashrash [Eilat]. From Gaza, gentlemen... We do not want a state 364 square kilometers in size, nor do we want a state for which we had to beg at the negotiating table. Such a state will never come to be. What we want is a free state, which maintains its dignity, 27,000 square kilometers in size - the size of Palestine in its entirety.”

— Osama Hamdan, Hamas Representative in Lebanon
Al Manar and Al Aqsa TV, December 3 and 5, 2008

“Allah willing, th emoment will come when their property will be destroyed and their sons annihilated, until not a single Jew or Zionist is left on the face of the Earth.”

—Hamas Friday Sermon
Al-Aqsa TV, April 3, 2009

 

Sanctioning Violence

“The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.”

— The fatwa (religious edict) issued by Osama bin Laden in 1998

“The Palestinian people are in a state of emergency against the failure of the Camp David summit. If the situation explodes, the Palestinian people living in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority are ready for the next fierce battle against the Israeli occupation. ... The next Intifada will be more violent than the first one especially since the Palestinian people now possess weapons allowing them to defend themselves in a confrontation with the Israeli army. ... the Lebanese experience of wiping out the Israeli occupation from southern Lebanon gave the Palestinian people the needed moral strength and added to their spirit of armed struggle.”

— A "senior security figure” in the Palestinian Authority,
Kul Al-Arab, July 14, 2000

“We are teaching the children that suicide bombs make Israeli people frightened and we are allowed to do it....We teach them that after a person becomes a suicide bomber he reaches the highest level of paradise.”

— Palestinian “Paradise Camp” counselor speaking to BBC interviewer,
quoted in Jerusalem Post, July 20, 2001

“If they go from Sheba’a, we will not stop fighting them. Our goal is to liberate the 1948 borders of Palestine...[Jews] can go back to Germany or wherever they came from.”

— Hezbollah spokesperson Hassan Ezzedin
New Yorker, October 14, 2002

“If they [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.”

— Hezbollah leader Sheikh Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
Lebanon Daily Star, October 23, 2002

“The jihad and suicide bombings will continue — the Zionist entity will reach its end in the first quarter of the current century. It is therefore up to you [Muslim holy fighters] to be patient — the Hamas takes upon itself the liberation of all Palestinian land from the sea to the river in the Rafah [in the south] and until Rosh Hanikra [in the north].”

— Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
Al-Ayyam, December 28, 2002

“There is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will wipe off this stigma (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world....Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury (while) any (Islamic leader) who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world....As the Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] said, Israel must be wiped off the map.”

    Speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Associated Press , October 26, 2005

“Our enemies ... don't understand that a suicide operation ... is a natural right.”

— Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal
Agence France Presse, May 3, 2006

“It is the Palestinian people's right to engage in resistance until the occupation ends. As long as the resistance is legitimate, everything related to it is also legitimate.”

— Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein
Media Line, October 5, 2006

“Oh warrior brothers, this is a nation that will never be broken, it is a revolution that will never be defeated. This is a nation that gives an example every day that is imitated across the world. We gave the world the children of the RPG [Rocket Propelled Grenades], we gave the world the children stone [-throwers], and we gave the world the male and female Martyrdom-Seekers [suicide bombers].”

— Secretary of Fatah in Gaza Ahmed Hales Abu Maher
PA TV, November 14, 2006

“Oh noble Gaza, raise your head high. You have made the Muslims raise their heads high. And you, people of Hebron - you are now waging a war against the Jews. You are well-versed in this. We saw how, on a day in 1929, you slaughtered the Jews in Hebron. Today, slaughter them on the land of Hebron. Kill them in Palestine. Arise, oh people of Palestine, all the people of Palestine - arise in defense of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, arise in defense of Nablus and Hebron. Arise and face the [PA] Preventive Security forces. Fear them not, for they are rabbits. They are wolves, so fear them not, oh lions.”

— Sheik Himam Sa'id, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan
Al Manar and Al Aqsa TV, December 3 and 5, 2008

“I say on behalf of the Association of Islamic Scholars: The truce with the Zionist entity is meaningless. The solution is to renew the resistance in a stronger and more effective way. Let pure bodies blow up again in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine, because this enemy understands nothing but the language of force... To the courageous Egyptian people we say: Arise and bring down the artificial border, and bring food and medicine to your besieged brothers in Gaza. The Egyptian people is required to show an act of violence, even if they go to jail, even if they die - they will be martyrs for the sake of Allah.”

— Husan Abdallah, Lebanese Association of Islamic Scholars
Al Manar and Al Aqsa TV, December 3 and 5, 2008

“[Some ask] where the negotiations with the Israeli side have brought us. First [the Israelis] said we would [only have the right to] run our own schools and hospitals. Then they consented to give us 66% [of the occupied territories]. At Camp David they offered 90%, and [recently] they offered 100%. So why should we hurry, after the all the injustice we have suffered? The agreement will not be stable anyway, unless it is based on international law and on justice.”

— Saeb Erakat, chief Palestinian negotiator
Al-Dustour, June 25, 2009

“...nobody should agree to Israeli settlers remaining in the Palestinian [state].”

— Saeb Erakat, chief Palestinian negotiator
Al-Dustour, June 25, 2009

Radical Islam

“First of all this Palestinian land, and all the Arabic nation, is all part of the same area. In the past, there was no independent Palestinian state; there was no independent Jordanian state; and so on. There were regions called Iraq or Egypt, but they were all part of one country....Our main goal is to establish a great Islamic state, be it pan-Arabic or pan-Islamic.

— Mahmoud A-Zahhar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip,
The Media Line, September 22, 2005

“We find more than once condemnation and denunciation to the resistance operations and bombings [suicide attacks], carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian resistance branches. There is no other choice but to use restraint regarding the condemnation, the attaching of the label of terror [to "resistance"], and the assembling of conferences [for] condemnation [of the attacks]. [This] so that everyone will know, that we did this only because our lord commanded so, “I did it not of my own accord” and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the worlds on a land, to which Allah gave his blessing for the sake of the inhabitants of the worlds.”

Kan'an Ubayd in the Hamas newspaper
Al-Risalah
, April 23, 2007

“You will be victorious" on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] "you will be victorious," but only "if you are believers." Allah willing, "you will be victorious," while America and Israel will be annihilated, Allah willing. I guarantee you that the power of belief and faith is greater than the power of America and Israel. They are cowards, as is said in the Book of Allah: "You shall find them the people most eager to protect their lives." They are cowards, who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America's nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and everywhere.”

— Dr. Ahmad Bahar (acting Speaker, Palestinian Legislative Council)
Sudan TV, April 13, 2007

“This is Islam, that was ahead of its time with regards to human rights in the treatment of prisoners, but our people was afflicted by the cancerous lump, that is the Jews, in the heart of the Arab nation… Be certain that America is on its way to disappear, America is wallowing [in blood] today in Iraq and Afghanistan, America is defeated and Israel is defeated, and was defeated in Lebanon and Palestine… Make us victorious over the infidel people… Allah, take hold of the Jews and their allies, Allah, take hold of the Americans and their allies… Allah, count them and kill them to the last one and don’t leave even one.”

— Dr. Ahmad Bahar (acting Speaker, Palestinian Legislative Council)
PA TV, April 20, 2007

“Palestinians will fight Israel for generation upon generation until victory, and will yet get to dance at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem....If Israel is not defeated in this generation, it will be in the next generation.”

— Ismail Haniyeh, former Hamas prime minister,
speaking at a rally in Gaza on August 16,
Canadian Jewish News, August 17, 2007

“We promise our Muslim brothers that we will do the best we can to harm Jews in Israel and the world over, with Allah's help and according to his command.”

— Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri
April 2, 2008

“The annihilation of the Jews here in Palestine is one of the most splendid blessings for Palestine. This will be followed by a greater blessing, Allah be praised, with the establishment of a Caliphate that will rule the land and will be pleasing to men and God.” Palestinian cleric Muhsen Abu 'Ita, Al-Aqsa TV, MEMRI, July 13, 2008.”

Palestinian cleric Muhsen Abu 'Ita
Al-Aqsa TV, July 13, 2008

“Oh young men, what will you say to the Jordanian government? Expel the Jewish ambassador from Amman. Amman is pure, and the Jewish ambassador must not defile its soil. Recall the Jordanian ambassador from Palestine. Only mujahideen should be in Palestine - not ambassadors, not ministers, or any representative of this nation. Do not recognize the ambassador of this nation in Palestine. Palestine is the land of Jihad, of sacrifice, and of preparation. We say to this government: Stop normalization with the Jews. Stop all imports and exports with the Jews. Our markets are full of Jewish vegetables and Jewish fruits. Traders who bring these fruits and vegetables are traitors, collaborators. Tell them this. Make them hear our voice. The position of the religious scholars is that anyone who trades with the Jews is a traitor and collaborator.”

— Sheik Himam Sa'id, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan
Al Manar and Al Aqsa TV, December 3 and 5, 2008

“You don't treat the Jews as enemies only because they are human beings who eat and drink. No! We treat them as enemies because they are the enemies of Allah and the prophets, they murdered the prophets, distorted the prophecy, they are traitors and deceivers - therefore we treat them as enemies....Oh Allah, inflict as many losses as possible on the Jews, kill them one by one and don’t leave even one.”

Walid Al-Rashudi
Hamas TV, January 8, 2009

“The Jews are our enemies. Allah will annihilate them at our hands. This is something we know for certain.

—Muhammad Hussein Yaaqub, Egyptian Cleric
Al-Nas TV (Egypt), MEMRI, December 29, 2009

Sources: Foreign Broadcast Information Service
Haaretz
Israeli Foreign Ministry
Jerusalem Post
MEMRI
Near East Report
Palestinian Media Watch
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies
Various news sources

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