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May 18, 2018 Special Dispatch No. 7477

Hamas Leader In Gaza Yahya Sinwar: Our People Took Off Their Military Uniforms And Joined The Marches; They Have Imposed Their Agenda Upon The Whole World; We Decided To Turn The Bodies Of Our Women And Children Into A Dam Blocking Arab Collapse

May 18, 2018
Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 7477

Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar emphasized in a May 16 interview with Al-Jazeera TV that although Hamas has chosen the "wonderful and civilized" method of non-armed clashes, it would not hesitate to resort to armed struggle again when required by the circumstances. Sinwar said that Hamas members could have "rained thousands of missiles down" on Israeli cities, but instead, chose to take off their military uniforms and join the marches. He added that against the images of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, the Palestinians had painted an image of heroism and determination with their sacrifices – "the sacrifice of their children as an offering for Jerusalem and the Right of Return." "When we decided to embark on these marches," he said, "we decided to turn that which is most dear to us – the bodies of our women and children – into a dam blocking the collapse in Arab reality."

To view the clip of Yahya Sinwar on MEMRI TV, click here or below.

Goals Of The "Return March": Restore The Right Of Return To Palestinian, Arab, International Consciousness; Place Palestinian National Cause Back On World Agenda

Yahya Sinwar: "It is too early to say that such a great act of struggle has fulfilled its goals in full, but an important part of these goals has undoubtedly been fulfilled. The first goal that has been fulfilled at this point is that these marches have restored the Right of Return to the Palestinian, Arab, and international consciousness as one of the important rights and principles of the Palestinian people.

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"Another goal fulfilled by these marches is that they have placed the Palestinian national cause on the world's agenda once again, when some defeatists were claiming that the world's schedule was too busy and had no room for the Palestinian national cause. They tried to use this to promote further concessions.

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"I must emphasize a great strategic goal accomplished on May 14. Our people in Gaza recorded, for the whole world to see, their testimony over the transfer of the United States embassy to Jerusalem and the declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of the occupation entity. On behalf of the Arab Palestinian people and all the Arab and Islamic peoples, our people in Gaza have rejected that decision and that move, by this great activity and by recording its testimony for the sake of history, and by signing this testimony with the blood of the martyrs – our people sacrificed 60 martyrs on May 14, as well as 3,000 wounded. They were used to sign our people's rejection of the reckless decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem."

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"Our People Have Imposed Their Agenda Upon The Whole World – There Was Supposed To Be A Romantic Picture Of The Opening Of The U.S. Embassy In Jerusalem On The World's Television Screens, But Our People Forced... The Whole World To Split The Television Screens"

"This method [of struggle] is appropriate for this stage, but circumstances may change, and we may have to return to the armed struggle. When this happens, our people, the factions, and Hamas will not hesitate to use any means required by the circumstances.

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"The enemy says that we use people as human shields and push them towards the fence, but we say that these youth and men could have opted for another option. They could have rained thousands of missiles down on the cities of the occupation when the U.S. opened its embassy in Jerusalem. But they did not choose that path. Many of them took off their military uniforms and put their weapons aside. They have temporarily abandoned the means of armed struggle and turned to this wonderful civilized method, which is respected by the world, and which is appropriate for the current circumstances.

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"Our people have imposed their agenda upon the whole world. There was supposed to be a romantic picture of the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on the world's television screens, but our people, in their collective consciousness, forced the whole world to split the television screens between the footage of fraud, deception, falsehood, and oppression, manifest in the attempt to impose Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state, and between the image of injustice, oppression, heroism, and determination painted by our own people in their sacrifices – the sacrifice of their children as an offering for Jerusalem and the Right of Return.

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"When we decided to embark on these marches, we decided to turn that which is most dear to us – the bodies of our women and children – into a dam blocking the collapse in Arab reality, a dam to prevent the racing of many Arabs towards the normalization of ties with the plundering entity, which occupies our Jerusalem, plunders our land, defiles our holy places, and oppresses our people day and night."

Host: "You are referring to the 'Deal of the Century'..."

Yahya Sinwar: "The 'Deal of the Century' and any deal of compromise, aimed at eliminating our national Palestinian cause."

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