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A Palestinian militant taking up position during clashes with IDF troops in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday. (Reuters)
Last update - 00:17 02/03/2008
Meshal: Gaza is 'real holocaust,' armed resistance only option
By Haaretz Staff and News Agencies

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He said the Palestinians would be bringing upon themselves "a greater 'shoah' because we will use all our strength in every way we deem appropriate, whether in airstrikes or on the ground."

Vilnai's spokesman, Eitan Ginzburg, said Saturday the deputy defense minister never intended it as a reference to the Holocaust but used the word "shoah" to denote a disaster.

The minister was quoted Saturday by Army Radio as saying that while events in Gaza escalate, so do the chances of Israel using greater force.

Meshal said that Palestinian fighters in Gaza had little option but to keep firing rockets on Israel and resist "Israeli aggression."

"No one in his right mind would like to see Israel invade Gaza, but the battle has been forced on us. The rockets are a reaction. Israeli aggression came first," Meshal said.

"We won't surrender. Rockets are the arsenal we have to protect our people. The only option in front of us is resistance and self-defense," Meshal told reporters in Damascus.

He also accused Israel of exaggerating the Holocaust and using it to blackmail the world.

"Israel wants to exaggerate the Holocaust and make from it a tragedy such that no other can have their own tragedy," he said. "The Palestinian people are the victims and Israel is the hangman and killer," he added.

He also lashed out at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the rival Fatah movement, accusing him of providing a cover for the Israeli holocaust in Gaza by claiming that Hamas militants were sheltering al-Qaida terrorists.

He blamed some European countries, without naming them, for keeping silent on Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians.

"It is shameful that some Western countries try to clear their conscience with regards to the Holocaust that took place on their own land by being silent on the real holocaust being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people," he said.

Meshal warned Israel against the folly of invading Gaza, saying IDF soldiers would be defeated by Palestinians who will "fight like lions."

The Hamas leader called on Arabs and Muslims worldwide to go back to the streets in the East and West... to tell the world that "we will not stay silent in the face of this holocaust."

Following Mashal's press conference, some 3,000 Palestinians at the Yarmouk refugee camp marched with Palestinian flags to protest the Gaza attacks. 'Death to America, Death to Israel!' they shouted.

Meanwhile in Jordan, some 500 angry demonstrators gathered in the al-Wihdat refugee camp Saturday on the outskirts of Amman to protest the IDF strikes in Gaza. The protesters, mainly followers of the Islamic Action Front - Jordan's largest political opposition - shouted slogans against Israel and burned Israeli flags.

Later Saturday evening in Lebanon, thousands gathered at the Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp to protest the Gaza attacks.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said Palestinian leaders, including Abbas, recommended suspending peace talks at a meeting Saturday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "I think it will be suspended," Qureia said.

"What is happening in Gaza is a massacre of civilians, women and children, a collective killing, genocide," Qureia added. "We can't bear what the Israelis are doing, and what the Israelis are doing doesn't lend the peace process any credibility."

Hamas blasts world's silence

Hamas officials on Saturday condemned what they called "international silence" over the IDF operations in Gaza. Hamas said the lack of response included no reaction from members of the Arab world.

Meanwhile, later Saturday the Jordanian and Egyptian governments condemned Israel's operations, and the Lebanese guerilla group joined Meshal in describing the attacks as a 'holocaust'.

The latest round of fighting erupted Wednesday, when the IDF killed five Gaza militants responsible for ongoing rocket fire on southern Israel, which triggered a massive rocket barrage.

An Israeli man was killed Wednesday when a Qassam rocket struck his car on the outskirts of the Negev town of Sderot. Dozens of rockets have struck the south of Israel, some hitting as far north as Ashkelon, some 15 kilometers from Gaza.

Defense Minster Ehud Barak on Friday blamed Hamas for the escalating violence, and said the extremist group would bear the consequences.

"Hamas is directly responsible for the current situation and will be the one to bear the cost of our response", Barak said during a visit to Ashkelon, adding that "an Israeli response is necessary and will be carried out."


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      1.   outrage 14:05  |  real vision 01/03/08
      2.   Silence??? 14:08  |  Jacob 01/03/08
      3.   Shut up 14:10  |  real vision 01/03/08
      4.   Silence is Consent Hamas 14:16  |  Jane 01/03/08
      5.   # 4 Silence is consent Jane 14:58  |  petra 01/03/08
      6.   End the vile siege,you rotters! And end your stealing of 15:12  |  lakshmi 01/03/08
      7.   We should fight with the will to defeat the enemy. 15:21  |  Jean Van Daem 01/03/08
      8.   Sderot`s SUFFERING: NON-STOP WAR On INNOCENTS 15:30  |  Linda Rivera 01/03/08
      9.   Officials slam Israel for not giving into land for terrorism 15:32  |  Joseph . E 01/03/08
      10.   SILENCE IS NOT INDIFFERENCE, IT IS APPROVAL!!! 15:32  |  A Jew 01/03/08
      11.   Terror Arab PLO terrorism burried Annapolis shmapolis 15:37  |  Joseph . E 01/03/08
      12.   Abbasss is an Ass 15:38  |  George Kaplan 01/03/08
      13.   Peace process of land for peace is code word to kill jews 15:39  |  . 01/03/08
      14.   Abbas had an opportunity to urge UN debates over QASSAMS, but he 15:42  |  Vittorio 01/03/08
      15.   massacre massacre massacre... 15:45  |  Richard S 01/03/08
      16.   Enough is Enough! HAMAS should be smashed completely! 15:46  |  Vittorio 01/03/08
      17.   No Rockets will bring peace 15:57  |  Rightster 01/03/08
      18.   Silence about Hamas WAR crimes. Israel well within Intl Law 16:21  |  David 01/03/08
      19.   it means harm-us is wrong 16:23  |  jewish doctor 01/03/08
      20.   Gaza 16:24  |  Billclock 01/03/08
      21.   Blood of Gaza children will undougtedly haunt Israel 16:27  |  lana 01/03/08
      22.   Eliminate Gaza together with Haaretz editorial 16:28  |  Sal 01/03/08
      23.   The world is tired of Hamas and Hezbollah instigating conflict 16:57  |  Marwan مروان خو 01/03/08
      24.   response triggered rocket attack 17:07  |  Marc 01/03/08
      25.   Israel needs to consider the consequences of Non-Action 17:10  |  Dave 01/03/08
      26.   Hopefully this time IDF will have hamas on the run 17:13  |  Nechama 01/03/08
      27.   Hamas will pay today for their crimes 17:14  |  abu halil el tawil 01/03/08
      28.   Somebody should PLO to screw themselves 17:17  |  Sal 01/03/08
      29.   Clickfool`s Stutter 17:18  |  Fish 01/03/08
      30.   Have the meeting with Rice in Sderot 17:18  |  Maurice Zaslawsky 01/03/08
      31.   Abbas - another coward 17:19  |  Nechama 01/03/08
      32.   Palestinian "witnesses" are often planted for propaganda 17:19  |  Marwan مروان خو 01/03/08
      33.   HAMAS,noone cares about you anymore,noone cares that you 18:01  |  terrornator 01/03/08
      34.   Hamas Leaders On Daily Diet Of Stupid Pills Can Only Act Stupid! 18:01  |  Lavi 01/03/08
      35.   International Community Deserves Condemnation 18:01  |  Brad 01/03/08
      36.   Time to take out ABBAS! 18:01  |  Jeff 01/03/08
      37.   jacob,hamas is not blind to causes and effects,they know if they 18:03  |  terrornator 01/03/08
      38.   if pals quite then it wasn`t real process anyway. they loose and 18:09  |  ralph 01/03/08
      39.   Meshaal, Auschwitz inmates didnt fire qassams or katyushas 18:13  |  jed 01/03/08
      40.   Hamas Leadership 18:25  |  Douglas Fireman 01/03/08
      41.   Like London blitz 18:26  |  Bill 01/03/08
      42.   Sad 18:28  |  Bill 01/03/08
      43.   Halt The Peace Talks? 18:32  |  Bill Foonman 01/03/08
      44.   Meshal approved the terror of Qassams he helped bring this on 18:35  |  Shepherd 01/03/08
      45.   Abbas got to go 18:44  |  Palestinian 01/03/08
      46.   Horror: Islamics DELIBERATELY TARGET Jewish Mothers & BABIES 18:50  |  Linda Rivera 01/03/08
      47.   ISLAMICS Make WAR Against CIVILIAN Populations 18:55  |  Linda Rivera 01/03/08
      48.   HAMAS: please, step down! Enough with killing! 19:15  |  AliciaYasmeen 01/03/08
      49.   I think Matan Vilnai should resign 19:20  |  hipolito 01/03/08
      50.   #22 19:21  |  #22 01/03/08
      51.   Holocaust? In the last few days Arabs killed 100 times more Black 19:22  |  Genuine Tosefta 01/03/08
      52.   What Peace ? 19:22  |  ottomatik 01/03/08
      53.   palestinian,if abbas goes so does your chance of peace with 19:24  |  terrornator 01/03/08
      54.   Nice photo! Old man with AK47 rifle next to RPG rocket launcher 19:26  |  Genuine Tosefta 01/03/08
      55.   now we need.... 19:26  |  MATILDA 01/03/08
      56.   #22 Don`t make me sick with your horror from Qassams 19:29  |  Dutch 01/03/08
      57.   IDF, keep killing many more of the so called "civilians" 19:30  |  Genuine Tosefta 01/03/08
      58.   Don`t make me sick with your bs Dutch 19:48  |  Bill 01/03/08
      59.   #27 19:49  |  #27 01/03/08
      60.   #27 19:49  |  #27 01/03/08
      61.   Incredible Stupidity 20:08  |  Ariel 01/03/08
      62.   Must be a way out Globaly from this sadness 20:13  |  Simon Mohammed 01/03/08
      63.   Yes Linda Rivera 20:18  |  JT 01/03/08
      64.   You make everyone else sick Dutch 20:18  |  Michael 01/03/08
      65.   Solution 20:23  |  Nosama 01/03/08
      66.   Poor AliciaYasmeen 20:26  |  JT 01/03/08
      67.   This is why I hate Klezmer music 20:35  |  Fritz T. 01/03/08
      68.   32. Matilda I agree with you 20:37  |  hipolito 01/03/08
      69.   The solution to terror. 20:48  |  Jean Van Daem 01/03/08
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