Following the November 5, 2014 vehicular terrorist attack at a light rail station in Jerusalem, perpetrated by Hamas activist Ibrahim Al-Akari,[1] analyst and columnist Dr. 'Issam Shawer posted an article on the Hamas website titled "The Revolution Of Anger Against The Crimes Of The Occupier And The Western Plot." In the article, he praised Al-Akari's "martyrdom operation" and argued that the war against Israel is a religious war against the descendants of apes and pigs who have defiled the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and not a political struggle that can be waged at the UN or by means of negotiations. Shawer also warned of additional terror attacks in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank if Israel continues with its policy towards the Palestinians and the holy places.
Below are translated excerpts from Shawer's article: [2]
Dr. 'Issam Shawer (source: Pulpit.alwatanvoice.com, August 29, 2013).
"Ibrahim Al-Akari's martyrdom operation on Tuesday, November 6, 2014 [sic] was not the first [such operation], and will not be the last, in response to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the despicable crimes that it [Israel] commits daily against our holy places in Palestine and particularly in Jerusalem. In the coming days and weeks, [further] surprises and quality operations by the Palestinian resistance are expected, as long as the Jews continue to test the patience of the Palestinian people and to defile holy places in an unprecedented manner.
"Palestinian and Arab voices are warning that religious war could break out in the region because of what they term 'the Israeli violations.' But we maintain, and believe, that our battle against the occupier is fundamentally religious, not geographic, historic, or economic. Allah the Exalted mentioned [in the Koran] our [current] conflict with the occupier, when he told His servants that they would enter Al-Aqsa Mosque as they had entered it the first time, and told us [also] that everything that 'Israel' had built in order to establish its fragile entity would be destroyed[3]... Therefore, we must stop arguing that our battle against the enemy is political, waged in the arena of the UN, the Security Council, or negotiations. All this nonsense contradicts the Koran and the Hadith.
"The boiling [anger] that invaded the heart of the Palestinian people is intensifying daily; the Palestinian rage is building, and it surges when we see the sons of apes and pigs defiling Al-Aqsa Mosque, starving the Gaza Strip residents, and attempting to impose a Jewish presence on our mosque and give legal validity to the siege on our people.
"The rage is building, and it surges with every Israeli violation against a Palestinian, whoever he may be. This is what the Israeli occupation government, the Arab governments, and Western society must know. The Palestinian people is enraged at the Israeli crimes in Jerusalem, at the international plot against Gaza, and at the restrictions on the lives of the West Bank residents. If those who seek quiet in our region do not rectify their mistakes and [do not deal with] Israel's brutality, the situation will explode not only in Jerusalem, but also in Gaza and the West Bank. This is because all the signs are attesting to this, and only a blind man or a fool can ignore them."
