19-Jun-11: Listening closely to the barbarians

Baby carriages and rescue workers: The scene outside
Jerusalem's Sbarro restaurant, 9th August 2001 on the day
our daughter was murdered along with 14 others in
an 'armed resistance' massacre executed by Hamas   

We have a different viewpoint from most people, given that our daughter was murdered by the thugs whom the spokesperson below represents. "Armed resistance" is one of those expressions that terrorist groups everywhere are encouraged by their media contacts and public relations spinners to use. 

It masks the relentless appetite for the indiscriminate pain and civilian-focused damage, the restaurant bombings, the sniper attacks, the bus massacres and the showcase killings they seek to inflict on those they hate. But it sounds more political, almost romantic. 

Remind yourself of the kind of armed resistance that Hamas directed at a pizza store full of mothers and children.

Senior Palestinian leader: Armed resistance best | Associated Press – 19th June 2011 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A senior leader of the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas movement says armed resistance is the "most effective" way to fight the Israelis, and that Palestinian plans to ask the U.N. to recognize their independence are a waste of time. Khalil al-Hayya says the Palestinian Authority's efforts to persuade the United Nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state are a "mirage." His remarks, communicated by his office Sunday, reflect the tensions between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority's dominant Fatah movement as the rival factions try to form a unity government. The head of the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, is pursuing statehood at the U.N. because negotiations with Israel have been stalled for 2 1/2 years.

Al-Hayya is profiled here. 

In an interview published eighteen months ago, and referring to Hamas' paymasters in Tehran, he asserts that the terrorists of Hamas receive "Iranian support financially, politically and morally without paying any political price". And in January 2011, addressing the man who today stands at the head of Hamas' newest partner Fatah (with or without the intergroup "tension"), he said: "Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas does not represent the Palestinian people, and is no longer authorized to negotiate with Israel on behalf of the Palestinians."

Terrorists, when they speak clearly as this thug does, ought to be listened to carefully. If they are expressing a position over which they have control, they should always be believed.

Are you listening, Tom ("What to do with Lemons") Friedman?