The following are two new MEMRI TV reports on the Gaza flotilla. In the first, Syrian historian Soheil Zakkar calls for suicide operations inside Israel; in the second, a leading Palestinian Islamic cleric in Lebanon, Sheikh Muhammad Nimr Zaghmout, calls on Egyptians and Jordanians to storm Israeli embassies and take the ambassadors and employees hostage. Also following are links to other MEMRI reports on the Gaza flotilla, as well as items from The MEMRI Blog on the subject.
MEMRI TV Clip No. 2492 – Syrian Historian on Syrian TV: "Israel Is a Malignant Disease In An Advanced Stage… The Masses… Should Wage An Intifada And Return To Bombing Operations"
The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian historian Soheil Zakkar on the Gaza flotilla events; the interview aired on Syrian TV on May 31, 2010. (To view the clip on the MEMRI TV YouTube page, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgG8XrsjyRM.)
Soheil Zakkar: "Israel, which purports to be a democratic and secular state, and so on, is, in fact, a Talmudic state. A rabbi could be an army officer or a high-ranking official. When he issues a religious ruling, it is considered to be sacred, because according to Talmudic thought, a rabbi receives divine inspiration, and consequently, his rulings have divine legitimacy. […]
"An entity which is based on aggressive religious foundations cannot stop."
Interviewer: "Until when?"
Soheil Zakkar: "Until it is toppled completely, until there is another Battle of Hittin."
Interviewer: "A confrontation is inevitable?"
Soheil Zakkar: "Yes, it is inevitable, and any talk about peace is self-deception. Israel is a malignant disease in an advanced stage. If it accepts peace, the disease will go into remission. […]
"The masses should get rid of all the leaders who do not follow their peoples' will, and should wage an Intifada and return to bombing operations on the domestic front – whether they are called martyrdom operations or whatever."
MEMRI TV No. 2493 – The Arabs Should Storm Israeli Embassies and Take Their Staffs Hostage
The following are excerpts from an interview with the head of the Palestinian Islamic Council in Lebanon, Sheikh Muhammad Nimr Zaghmout, about the Gaza flotilla events. The interview aired on Al-Alam TV on May 31, 2010. (To view the clip on the MEMRI TV YouTube page, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkgfCF_zHLw.)
Sheikh Muhammad Nimr Zaghmout: "A convoy of people were martyred for the sake of Islam and in order to regain the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Now, there are a few steps that should be taken by the Palestinians, the Arab and Islamic nation, and all the free people of the world. […]
"We have washed our hands of the Arab regimes. We are relying on Allah, on ourselves, and on the Arab and Islamic peoples. The peoples of the Arab nation should storm the [Israeli] spy embassy in Cairo, and take the head spy – the so-called ambassador – as well as all the agents surrounding him, as prisoners and hostages, in order to use them as bargaining chips. The Arab people should do the same in Jordan. They should storm the embassy, and take the ambassador and the agents surrounding him hostage, and use them as bargaining chips, or hand them over to the Palestinians or to any Arab or Islamic resistance faction."
MEMRI TV No. 2491 – Yemen-Based Egyptian Cleric Wagdi Ghoneim Interview about Flotilla Clash on Al-Jazeera: 'Hamas is Fighting America, Europe, and All the Crusader West, Which Supports the Zionist Entity'; 'By Allah, The Only Way to Liberate Palestine… Is the Path Taken By Hamas… Jihad For The Sake Of Allah'
To view this clip on the MEMRI TV Facebook page, visit http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150205278105093 .
MEMRI TV No. 2490 – Gaza-Based Yemeni Professor Abd Al-Fatah Nu'man: As Much As the Heroes on the Flotilla Want to Reach Gaza, the Option of Martyrdom Is More Desirable to Them
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To view this clip on the MEMRI TV YouTube page, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVvj6MSUVhg.
MEMRI TV No. 2489 - Al-Jazeera TV Report from "Freedom Flotilla" Before Its Departure for Gaza: Activists On Board Chant Intifada Songs and Praise Martyrdom
To view this clip on the MEMRI TV YouTube page, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVJ6G1x0La8.
Previously Released MEMRI Report About the Flotilla
Special Dispatch No. 2990
Arab Media Reports on Flotilla Participants: Writing Wills, Preparing for Martyrdom, Determined to Reach Gaza or Die
To read the full report, visit http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-middle-east-media-research-institute-memri/arab-media-reports-on-flotilla-participants-writing-wills-preparing-for-martyrdo/126625734024160.
From the MEMRI Blog – On the Flotilla
Father Of Kuwaiti Flotilla Participant: My Son Planned To Become A Martyr
The father of Kuwaiti activist and Gaza flotilla participant Abd Al-Rahman Al-Filkawi told the Kuwaiti Al-Watan daily that his son had told him that the flotilla participants' morale was high, and that they "would sacrifice themselves for the sake of Allah. He added that his son had "told them before embarking that he would be a martyr for the sake of Allah."
The next day, the father told a press conference: "My son Abd Al-Rahman came to me and said: 'Reckon my sacrifice [of my life] in anticipation of the reward of Allah' and I did so. Then he went to his mother and she reckoned his sacrifice in anticipation of the reward of Allah. If he dies there [with the flotilla], he dies as a martyr [with the predetermined aim of becoming one]."
To read the related report, click here
Source: Al-Rai, Kuwait, June 2, 2010
In Response To Gaza Flotilla Events, Muslim Brotherhood Calls To Withdraw Arab Peace Initiative, Al-Qaradhawi's IUMS Calls To Cancel All Peace Agreements With Israel
In response to the Gaza flotilla events, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has called on Arab countries to withdraw the Arab peace initiative, which he said has been rejected by the Zionist enemy, and to demand that the Egyptian government leave the Rafah crossing permanently open.
Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has announced that June 4 is to be a "Day of Rage," when Muslims are called on to protest against the Zionist crime and to pressure the Arab governments to prevent the catastrophe being caused to Gaza residents.
The organization also called on Arab governments to cancel all peace agreements made with Israel.
Source: Palestine-info.info, June 2, 2010
Flotilla Participant's Son: 'Since He Was Little, My Father Hoped To Become a Martyr For The Sake of Allah'
The son of Kuwaiti activist and attorney Mubarak Al-Mutawa said: "Since he was little, my father hoped to become a martyr for the sake of Allah."
Al-Mutawa's wife related that on the day of his departure, her husband had gathered their children together to tell them about martyrdom and jihad, and that he bade them farewell by saying: "If I am martyred during my voyage, do not be sad. I will be in Paradise, because I am going to wage jihad for the sake of Allah."
To read the related report, click here
Sources: Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa, Kuwait, June 2, 2010.
Arab FMs To Meet To 'Examine Ways To Respond To Israel Crime' Against Flotilla
Hishem Youssef, director of the office of Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, said that the Arab foreign ministers, who are to meet today urgently at Arab League headquarters in Cairo, "will examine ways to respond to the Israeli crime" against the Gaza flotilla, and look at practical steps to remove the Gaza siege.
He said that Arab countries prefer diplomatic means to remove the siege, rather than going to war.
Turkish Ambassador to Cairo participated in the extraordinary meeting yesterday of representatives of Arab countries in the Arab League, in which Amr Moussa thanked Turkey for participating with the Arabs in restraining Israel's barbarism.
Source: Al-Hayat, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, June 2, 2010
Gaza Flotilla Participants: We Will Reach Gaza Even at the Cost of Our Lives
Prominent participants in the Gaza flotilla, including the head of Jordan's Freedom Flotilla Committee, attorney Fathi Nasser; deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the Egyptian parliament, Muhammad Al-Baltaji; and the head of the Algerian delegation to the flotilla, 'Abd Al-Razzaq Maqri, stated before the flotilla's departure that they were adamant to reach Gaza, even at the cost of incarceration or martyrdom.
Source: www.factjo.com, www.ikhwanonline.com, May 27, 2010; www.arabs48.com, May 25, 2010
Head of Arab Delegation to Gaza Flotilla: Our Goal Is to Break the Siege, Not Just to Extend Humanitarian Aid
The deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the Egyptian parliament, Muhammad Al-Baltaji, who heads the Arab delegation to the Gaza aid flotilla, wrote in an article that the ships were purchased to facilitate future flotillas of this sort, since the activists were adamant not just to extend humanitarian aid but also to break the Gaza siege.
He stated that the flotilla organizers had declined Egypt's invitation to reach Gaza through its territory, and had opted to reach it by sea despite the difficulties, knowing that an attack by Israeli forces would only gain the attention of the international community.
Source: www.ikhwanonline.com, May 29, 2010
Iraq Only Arab Country To Issue No Statement On Gaza Flotilla
Iraq is the only Arab country which issued no statement with regard to the events surrounding the flotilla headed for Gaza. However, supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrated in Baghdad to condemn the Israeli attack.
Source: Al-Zaman, Iraq, June 1, 2010
