8 October 2000

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

The holy Aqsa Intifadha

Communiqué No. (8)

Herds of armed settlers backed by enemy soldiers attack our people everywhere

We declare state of maximum alert and formation of popular committees to defend our people and sanctities

Our Mujahid Palestinian people:

The rabid Zionist terrorist campaigns are continuing and escalating against our unarmed people. Thousands of heavily armed herds of settlers attacked last night our unarmed people in the city of Nazareth of occupied Palestine 1948. Two martyrs fell along with scores of wounded. The attacks were backed and protected by the enemy’s army. They also attacked our people in the suburbs of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Hebron and Gaza Strip. Furthermore, they burnt a mosque in Tiberias. At the same time the enemy’s government is threatening to wage war against Lebanon and Syria and is mobilizing its army along the Lebanese borders in an attempt to rid itself from the crisis facing this usurping entity due to escalation of our heroic people’s Intifadha and the heroes in Hizbullah’s kidnap of three enemy soldiers. At such a critical time officials in the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatuses declare the formation of a joint security operations room between the PA and each of the Zionist entity and the USA only hours after Barak’s threat to the PA of terminating the peace process if the Intifadha and confrontations do not cease! Here our people, after sacrificing the most precious thing they own and still are, have the right to wonder: Why form a joint operations room and what is its mission? Is it formed to escalate the Intifadha, which has become a comprehensive popular demand? Or is it formed to end and abort it in accordance with the American-Zionist parties’ demand, which fear its repercussions and reactions on the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic levels?

Our Palestinian people … Our Arab, Islamic Nation … at this serious stage, we in the Hamas Movement would like to affirm the following:

First: on the Palestinian level:

1- We declare a state of maximum alert and call on our people and the Hamas cadres and its supporters for general mobilization and urgent participation in popular resistance committees in all cities, villages, camps, universities and schools so that they would shoulder their national duty in protecting our unarmed people and defend them in face of the enemy soldiers and herds of settlers. We further ask them to organize day and night guarding shifts of our cities, villages, sanctities and properties of our people bearing in mind the good omens of our prophet’s Hadith “Two eyes are not touched by (hell) fire, an eye that shed tears out of fear of Allah, and an eye that was on guard all night for the cause of Allah.”

2- We greet our heroic people in the city of Nazareth who are the target of organized terrorism and repression campaigns on the part of enemy soldiers and herds of settlers. We hail their steadfastness and bravery in defending themselves. We also salute our people’s masses who responded to the appeals and hit the streets in late hours yesterday to help them and break the siege against them. We highly appreciate our angry masses that took to the streets in Ramallah and Gaza in solidarity with them and clashed with enemy soldiers.

3- We strongly denounce the new and old security agreements between the PA and the enemy. We condemn the formation of a joint operations room that would only serve to strike the resistance and abort the Aqsa Intifadha. We consider that such a step had let down our Aqsa, our people and the Arab and Islamic peoples that took to the streets in solidarity with our people and in support of the Aqsa. But we are content with the fact that our people is well aware with the truth and we are content with the promise of our prophet, peace be upon him, to the victorious group in Al-Quds and its precincts who “would not be harmed by those who differed with them or those who let them down.”

4- We affirm that the prophet Yousef’s tombstone that was liberated by our angry masses in Nablus is an Islamic Waqf and will remain a mosque at which the five daily prayers will be offered. We will resist any attempt for the return of the settlers or soldiers, who had turned it into military barracks and a dagger in the center of the brave city of Nablus. We urge our people to reconstruct it and offer next Friday’s noon prayers in it.

Second: on the Arab, Islamic level:

1- We salute the heroes of Hizbullah and the Lebanese people who united with our Palestinian people in Lebanon in confrontation of the enemy.

2- We appeal to leaders of the Nation to perform their duty and responsibility in protecting and helping our people who are threatened by the gangs of the enemy’s army and herds of settlers everywhere. We demand their backing to our people’s steadfastness and adopting the struggle option including providing weapons to our people to enable them continue their Jihad and to defend themselves and their holy shrines.

3- We call on leaders of Arab and Islamic countries to strongly support Syria and Lebanon in face of the enemy’s war threats.

4- We hail our Nation’s masses that continued their solidarity campaigns with our people and in support of the Aqsa. We call for more such activity and more serious official stands.

5- We demand the concerned Arab countries to close the enemy’s embassies and missions and to sever all forms of relations with the occupying enemy.

Third: the activities:

1- Let our masses escalate confrontations against the Zionist enemy and herds of settlers on Tuesday and Wednesday 10, 11/10 in solidarity with the Nazareth heroes and let the funeral processions of martyrs turn into roaring demonstrations and all-out confrontations against the occupying enemy.

2- We call on our people to boycott the enemy’s products and resort to the Palestinian or Arab alternative if found.

3- We advocate organizing special marches for university students and others for school students, their dates to be determined according to the regions.

4- Let Thursday 12/10 be a day for collective fasting for all our people seeking Allah’s satisfaction and in solidarity with the families of martyrs and wounded.

5- Let Friday 13/10 be a day of rage and distinctive escalation including tumultuous rallies marching from mosques after the Friday noon prayers in defense of our holy shrines.

6- Organize visits to families of martyrs, wounded and detainees in a show of solidarity with them and to meet their needs.

Allahu Akbar and victory to our Mujahid people

The Islamic Resistance Movement
(Hamas – Palestine)
Monday 9 October 2000