20 August  2001

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

To confront Sharon’s massacres:

Escalating resistance, serious Arab action and reprisal

And no return to humiliating negotiations

Zionist aggression against our people witnessed a new escalation in the past few days represented in intensifying storming operations of Palestinian cities and the assassination of more intifada activists. The step follows the moral and security defeat that befell the Zionist occupation at the hands of the martyr heroes who blew up the Zionist security theory and proved failure of terrorist Sharon’s government in achieving security for Zionist occupiers. Following the Quds and Haifa operations that terrorized the Zionists, Sharon resorted to political steps such as occupying the “Orient House” then followed it with escalation in military aggression that led to the martyrdom of numerous Palestinians. In a single day, yesterday Sunday, six Palestinians were martyred in Rafah, Gaza and Nablus including two small children in a fresh cold-blooded massacre by the occupation army. Such escalation aims at increasing pressures on our people and pushing them to despair in order to abandon  resistance against occupation in addition to pressuring the Palestinian Authority to return to effective security coordination and resume policy of detention of Palestinian freedom fighters. The PA actually responded by arresting a number of Hamas cadres at the pretext of having links to the martyrdom operation in Al-Quds. In the light of such Zionist escalation and aggression, the Zionist enemy circulated possibility of resuming political talks with the PA. A number of Arab parties also exerted efforts in a bid to revive the negotiations. Faced by such developments we would like to affirm the following:

1) The escalation of Zionist terrorism and aggression against our people reflects the Zionist occupation and the Sharon government’s misery and moral defeat. They are trying to score illusionary victories over the Palestinian people to preserve their existence and cohesion.

2) The Zionist enemy’s signs about political negotiations with the PA and readiness to accept a political settlement in addition to activating role of terrorist Peres in the light of continuation and escalation of repression, terrorism and aggression aims to distract the attentions and to ensure international support for criminal Sharon’s policies and terrorism.

3) We affirm the importance of unity of our people on the option of intifada, resistance and steadfastness in its capacity as the sole option capable of ejecting occupation and putting an end to Zionist aggression and terrorism God willing.

4) Returning to discussions on reviving negotiations with the Zionist enemy and resuming the so-called peace process is a stab in the back of the blessed intifada and lets down our people’s Jihad, brave resistance and martyrs’ blood. Our people did not indulge in this intifada and resistance and did not offer martyrs and sacrifices only to submit to the criminal enemy’s demands and return to humiliating negotiation with it. Any step in this direction on the part of any Palestinian or Arab party would be met with anger on the part of our people along with the Arab and Islamic peoples.

5) We affirm that resistance would persist and escalate and that the criminal Zionist enemy would never know sleep or security as long as occupation continued. Our stationed Palestinian people will not take heed of suspicious calls voiced by defeatists to halt resistance or martyrdom operations under weak pretexts. Persistence of occupation and its daily bloodbaths against our people boost the necessity for escalation of resistance and continuation of martyrdom operations.

6) We denounce the state of Arab and Islamic impotency in face of the Zionist aggression. We invite the Arab and Islamic peoples to restore their role in support of their Palestinian brothers. We also urge the Arab and Islamic governments to shoulder their responsibility in resisting aggression and adopt serious practical steps in confrontation of Sharon and his terrorist gang and not to remain captive to losing bets on the American role. It is high time for the Arab and Islamic countries to sever all kinds of relations and contacts with the Zionist enemy and to pressure the American administration through its interests in the region.

The Islamic Resistance Movement
Hamas – Palestine
Monday 1^st Jumada Thani 1422H
20/8/2001AD