Former MK Dehamshe. 'Palestinians have right to defend themselves'
Former Arab MK defends suicide bombings
Former Arab MK Dehamshe justifies use of Qassam rockets against Israel as means of self-defense, says suicide bombings keep Palestinian issue alive
Former Israeli-Arab Knesset Member Abdulmalik Dehamshe (United Arab List) said he supports the Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. Dehamshe told the Israel-Arab newspaper Kul al-Arab that "it seems Israel only learns the hard way. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be up to his ears if he doesn't learn from the mistakes of the past."
Dehamshe, who had served more than five years in Israeli prisons in the past, said that as long as Israel stays defiant in its refusal to negotiate over kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, "it will get more and more into trouble, especially when a deal can open the door for a renewal of the diplomatic process."
The former MK claimed that Hamas will treat Shalit in a humane manner "in keeping with the Islamic traditions that existed hundreds of years before the Geneva Convention," and stressed that the Hamas action during which the soldier was kidnapped is "legitimate and respected."
Kidnapping 'legitimate and respected'
In the interview, Dehamshe justified the use the Palestinians were making of Qassam rockets and said that these attacks created psychological pressure and a 'strategic tie' between both sides. "Why should Israel have the right to attack Gaza with planes and missiles that hurt the bodies of women and children and deprive the Palestinians of the right to defend themselves?"
"The Palestinians have no other weapons but these rockets and the suicide bombings," he stated. Dehamshe rejected the claim that the use of suicide bombings had failed, saying that "if it wasn't for the suicide bombings – the Palestinian issue would be dead by now."
