Hamas chief gives great responses to Western Jewish journalist:
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Vanity Fair: I thought maybe we’d start with your thoughts about the allied campaign in Syria, which was formerly the home to Hamas. What are your thoughts about the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS?
Khalid Mishal: I spent some of the most important years of my life in Syria. A big part of Hamas’s course was shaped there, and I am pained by what the country is going through today. . . . Much of what’s happening does not serve the interests of regional countries and their people. Indeed, we are against ideological, political, or military extremism. We are for moderation. We are against any aggression, or any killing of innocent human beings, regardless of their beliefs or race.
We believe in the right to resistance against the occupation. This is a legitimate right of the people, as with the Palestinian people. Any people that come under foreign occupation have the right to resistance. But random killings on all fronts, and extremism, this is something we’re against. This, however, is not something that can be resolved by forming coalitions like the one we have today, which is led by the United States. . . . Biased U.S. foreign policies toward Israel, and its policies in the region over the last few years, is also a form of extremism. Extremism is condemned, irrespective of who is wielding it.
As for what happened this past summer, with the war in Gaza, the numbers are pretty high. Twenty-one hundred Palestinians are dead. Over 20,000 houses destroyed. Do you consider this summer’s war with Israel to be a victory?
Netanyahu, because of his cabinet’s internal problems and because of the public anger against him, opted to escalate the situation in Gaza. He sought to score a victory over his political opponents and in front of the Israeli people, so he carried out his aggression. . . .
Victims did fall, true. But, we did not launch a war based on some calculations, then discovered that we incurred losses. The war was imposed on us and we simply defended ourselves . . . we are saddened by the loss of lives, but who should bear responsibility? It’s the Israelis: politicians, military, and security leaders. As for us, we stood our ground in this war. We thwarted Netanyahu’s plot.
The steadfastness showcased by Gaza is a victory. It sent a message to the world that there is something called the “Palestinian cause” . . . that the occupation must be brought to an end, that the settlements’ expansions must stop, and that the blockade on Gaza must be lifted.
Let’s talk about something that played a key part in the war: the tunnels that begin in Gaza, go underneath the border, and into Israel. What was their objective?
In light of the balance of power, which is shifted toward Israel, we had to be creative in finding innovative ways. The tunnels were one of our innovations. The Israeli army is stronger than us. It possesses a great destructive power. It has airplanes, artillery. It possesses the strongest weapons arsenal in the region. Therefore, what Hamas and other resistance factions are doing in Gaza, with the full support of our people, is just an attempt to ensure the necessary means to protect our people. . . . The tunnels come in this context, that of putting more obstacles in the way of any Israeli attacks, and enabling the resistance in Gaza to defend itself.
These tunnels are routinely referred to in the Palestinian press as attack tunnels, offensive tunnels. They start in Gaza, and they exit near civilian communities, Kerem Shalom, Ein Hashlosha, and I think 14 different communities. How is that defending yourself? On multiple occasions in the last year, Hamas operatives I believe belonging to the “Nukhba” (Elite forces) tried to enter Israel to carry out attacks. What can you tell us about that?
Please note when we used these tunnels. We used them when Israel waged war against us. So the tunnels may have been outwardly called offensive tunnels, but in actual fact, they are defensive ones. If those were offensive tunnels, Hamas would have used them before the war. But, when Israel carried out its aggression against us, we used the tunnels to infiltrate behind the back lines of the Israeli army, which is waging war on Gaza. This is the first point.
The second one is, yes, true. There are Israeli towns adjacent to Gaza. Have any of the tunnels been used to kill any civilian or any of the residents of such towns? No. Never! [Hamas] used them either to strike beyond the back lines of the Israeli army or to raid some military sites such as Nahal Oz. Hamas filmed this operation and aired the footage on TV networks. This proves that Hamas is only defending itself, is engaged in a war of self-defense.
There are a number of sources who say Hamas actually planned to use these tunnels to carry out a mass attack, simultaneously sending operatives through the tunnels and into Israel. This was one of the justifications for the war [and] one of the reasons that Israel was worried about shutting down the tunnels. Did Hamas have a plan to attack civilian communities in Israel in parallel?
The Israeli leadership is lying. Evidence of this is that when they declared war on Gaza, they did not declare the tunnels as part of the military targets. But when they discovered the tunnels, this is when they started to raise the issue. This proves that they first started the war, and then looked for justifications. This is the first point.
The second one is, if what Israeli leaders are claiming is correct—that Hamas dug those tunnels to attack the Israeli towns and kill civilians—how come Hamas hasn’t done that during the war?
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