Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki: I Support Suicide Bombings in Israel

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Abbas Zaki, PLO ambassador to Lebanon, which aired on New TV on January 6, 2009:

Interviewer: I asked you earlier if you support martyrdom operations today, and you said that the Israelis are afraid both of the Palestinian stones and people.

Abbas Zaki: First of all, in light of the blood that is being shed in Gaza, and the crying of the men – not only of the women... The hardest thing is to watch the men crying in Gaza. I now support any operation that will make the women and men in Israel cry. When the Al-Qassam Brigades and all the other forces were told to strike everywhere, I expected things to be carried out quickly. All those who always flex their muscles, and say they want to slaughter Israel – this is their opportunity. Soon, the world will view us as those responsible for the crime. Currently, in light of what is happening to the children of Gaza, any martyrdom operation is permissible, I swear by Allah.

Interviewer: Do you call for such operations to be launched from the West Bank as well? Some people are asking: What can the people of the Gaza Strip do right now? Perhaps now, with the land invasion, they will be able to act. But do you really call upon the people of the West Bank to carry out martyrdom operations?

Abbas Zaki: The people of the West Bank are active day and night – with stones, with demonstrations, all the people have taken to the streets. You asked me if I support, in light of this bloodshed... Don't forget we're Arabs – we believe in blood vengeance. No one can treat our blood like water. We should have afflicted them with three or four operations, and then their women would have said to those sons of bitches: "Come home, we are getting killed here." When Israel focuses on one front, other fronts should be activated.