Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader Khaled Al-Batsh: The Taba Attack Was Justified

The following are excerpts from an interview with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khaled Al-Batsh:

Al-Batsh: What happened in Taba is directly related to our situation in Gaza. We cannot separate what happened in Taba from the crimes in the Gaza Strip, especially in Jabalya and the Jabalya refugee camp. What happened in Taba is that a group of Arab mujahideen or Arab resistance fighters from either the Islamic or the national movement were not prepared to watch these monstrous acts against the Palestinian people, while they couldn't see any Arab army protecting the Palestinian people. They have not seen a single Arab regime intervening and threatening to stop the massacre in Gaza "or else…" So they made the decision to avenge and to strike blows…

We welcome these striking hands despite all our suffering at the hands of the Arab nation. Nevertheless, we say that this is a justified operation in the framework of the response to the occupation's crimes. I believe that since the occupation began exporting the crisis abroad, beyond the borders of Palestine, there were people who stood up and said, "We, as the Arab and Islamic resistance in Egypt, are prepared..." and they dealt a blow in Taba to this aggression.

Therefore, the Taba operation was justified, and it should make the occupation feel there will be no security to whoever kills Palestinians. Whoever kills Palestinians must not be safe in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, or Lebanon. Whoever kills a Palestinian must understand that he will not be safe wherever he sets foot. This is a theory that the Zionists must understand. They must understand that as long as Palestinians are being killed, no settler will feel safe anywhere in the world.