Mahmoud Al-Zahhar: The Gaza Experience Should Be Repeated in the West Bank and Jerusalem

In an address in Gaza on August 26, Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that the Gaza experience should be repeated in the West Bank, and said: "We are entering a phase of rebuilding the homes, rearming, and developing our capabilities, until we can liberate all of Palestine." The address aired on Al-Aqsa TV.

Mahmoud Al-Zahhar: "Read what it says in the newspapers about the (Israeli) soldiers who were told that they were to enter Shuja'iyya. They vomited and wet their pants. Dear brothers, the true owners of the land have vanquished the foreign settlers. While the people of Gaza were emerging from the rubble, and sitting on (what was left) of their homes, more than half of occupied Palestine was evacuated. The (Israelis) were saying: We will not return before the Al-Qassam Brigades says so. Today, we have told them to return, because we know we are entering a phase of rebuilding the homes, rearming, and developing our capabilities, until we can liberate all of Palestine..."

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"Dear brothers, what happened has serious implications not only for the Israeli entity, but also for the West Bank, the everlasting wellspring of the resistance. Dear brothers, we call upon you to repeat the Gaza experience in the West Bank and Jerusalem and then you can start counting the days until the liberation of all of Palestine..."

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"We don't need to get permission from anybody. We will build our seaport and if anyone attacks our seaport, we will attack its seaport."

Announcer: "Say: 'Allah Akbar.'

Crowd: "Allah Akbar."

Mahmoud Al-Zahhar: "We will build our airport, according to the unanimous Palestinian decision, and if anyone attacks our airport, we will attack their airports once again. Our pledge to our heroic prisoners, who are the best of our sons after the martyrs, is that we remain true to our vow to liberate you by all possible means. We will complete our path, and fulfill our pledge for reconstruction, for acquiring weapons, for bringing about unity, and for accomplishing the enterprise of the resistance in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and everywhere abroad. Every Palestinian should reach an agreement with his country of residence on how to form brigades abroad for the Palestinian liberation army, without jeopardizing security in the country where he lives."