But striking at the Jewish state will be harder now. Many of Hamas’ key operatives are either dead or in jail, and Israeli troops still occupy most West Bank cities. Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, one of Hamas’ dominant political figures in the Gaza Strip, says the group was conditionally ready to stop suicide attacks against Israel before the latest escalation-though analysts think Hamas’ conditions were probably too hard-line for Israel to meet. Rantissi spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Dan Ephron.
Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi: We suggested an initiative that if the Israeli Zionists stop their attacks on civilians, we were prepared to stop our martyrdom [suicide] attacks. Among our conditions was the demand that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners and pull troops out of the West Bank and Gaza.
We saw what Sharon’s response was.
We don’t believe that if we stop attacks an agreement will ensue. But we were ready to do it to show the Arab countries that we’re not the problem.
Y ou shared a prison cell with Salah Shehada. What was he like?
We were in prison together in the same cell in 1995 and 1996 … He was very strong physically, very tough in difficult situations.
He was convicted of belonging to the military wing of Hamas, but he never confessed to it.
W as he the leader of the military wing of Hamas?
Yes, but only in Gaza.
I would think so, based on his title.
We are targeting soldiers but sometimes civilians get killed. We always try to limit ourselves to attacking soldiers. Look at the percentage of Israeli soldiers killed in the fighting-it’s more than 50 percent. I’m speaking about statistics, not imaginary things. Combatants are not just people who wear uniforms.
An Israeli civilian is someone who never took part in the fighting. If he participated in the fighting in the past, years ago, he is not a civilian. That’s why Israelis are still pursuing the Germans who took part in the Holocaust, though some of these people are in their 80s. They are still considered soldiers.
Yes.
Most Israeli women served in the army.
The majority. We choose military targets. If civilians are liable to die, that isn’t a reason to stop the attack. But we don’t set out to kill civilians.
Our formula is different. According to their logic, it’s enough for there to be one fighter in a neighborhood to justifying dropping the bomb.
We figured out who the collaborator must have been and we were about to put our hands on him, but the Palestinian intelligence arrested him first. I can’t say much about it.
No. But I believe that the Israelis gave him pictures of Sheik Salah and briefed him about him. He was following Sheik Salah.
A few minutes before the bomb fell, a man spoke on the phone near Sheik Salah’s house and said something about Salah Shehada. Someone overheard him talking on the phone and after the blast put the two things together. This person came to us and told us about it.
According to Islamic law, he should be put to death.
We don’t have numbers, but in 35 years of occupation, Israel managed to recruit many. We’re a conservative society, and that gives Israel the opportunity to blackmail people, especially youngsters, 14- or 15-year-olds. They set them up in compromising situations and then take pictures or a video. They tell these people that if they don’t cooperate, the video will be distributed publicly.
Yes.
I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s possible for someone from the outside to infiltrate.
The collaborator would be unable to fast like us and to pray like us. He wouldn’t have the kind of awareness we have of religious law and Islamic values.
