Terrorist's wife feels no compassion

"We are not concerned about the sentence and believe that everything is in Allah's hands. We had no expectations from the court of the terror state," Ihlas al-Sayad, wife of Hamas leader Abbas al-Sayad who was convicted Thursday in responsibility for the Park Hotel suicide bombing in 2002 in which 35 people were killed, said in an interview with Ynet.

Al-Sayad was sentenced to 35 life terms in prison.

Ihlas said she is certain the Palestinian resistance shall not forget al-Sayad and his friends. "We are convinced that before long Abbas and his friends will be freed," she said.

Have you no feelings of remorse, no compassion for the families?

We, as Muslims, are obligated to feel compassion for others. It is a divine decree. But feel compassion for whom? For those who initiated the wrongdoing against us and slaughtered the Palestinian people? They were the ones who committed atrocities against us and against the innocent.

Nevertheless, the lives of many families had been ruined.

The lives of thousands of Palestinian families have also been ruined. Many innocent people had been killed by the Jews. I have seen many Shahids (martyrs) with my own eyes, and many families who had lost their fathers.

Where is the compassion when it comes to us? What happens when a seven-month-old baby is killed when a building is being bombed? Who said that the blood of the Jews is more precious than ours? How can I feel sympathy after they have taken me and my husband from our children? My husband did what he did as an act of Palestinian self defense, after seeing so many of his people and friends being killed.

'Sharon the real terrorist'

Ihlas sounds very confident, just as confident as she was during her questioning following the suicide bombing in Passover 2002:

When Abbas was arrested, they arrested me as well. One of the police interrogators asked me how many life sentences I want them to give Abbas, and I said 'as many as you want, everything is from the hand of Allah, and at the end you will vanish. This is our land, and you have no right over it'.

Was it really not painful for you to hear the sentencing?

No. we are always happy and praise Allah for everything he brings upon us. We also did not expect anything else. This is exactly what we expected from a terrorist government, who is headed by the greatest terrorist of all - Sharon. The person who should have stood trial is Sharon, the murderer and terrorist, and not Abbas."

In line with her husband's decision, Ihlas never contacted the attorney appointed by the court to defend Abbas.

"Abbas said he does not recognize the state of Israel or its courts. He said that this state has no right to exist and refused to get an attorney," she said.

Abbas and Ihlas have two children, an eight-year-old daughter and a five and a half-year-old son. Since the arrest the Shin Bet has prevented Abbas from seeing his children, claiming Abbas poses a security threat.

But Ihlas says she knows Abbas will not serve a long sentence in prison.

"Abbas and his friends will be freed a lot earlier than people think," she said.