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The following are excerpts from an interview with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Abdallah Shalah, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on July 17, 2005.
Shalah: How old was the martyrdom-seeker who carried out the Netanya operation? He was 13 years old. Today he's 18 years old...
Host: You sent a 13-year-old?
Shalah: No. He was 13 when the Intifada started.
Host: How old is he today?
Shalah: 18 years old.
Host: Just a boy, then.
Shalah: Did I send him? Did I force him? They made the decision themselves. He wants to fight. He wants to become a martyr, because the alternative is such a life... You know what is happening in Palestine. Therefore, he believes, and I too believe, that this path of martyrdom is the solution...
Host: ... Will lead him to Paradise.
Shalah: It will lead him to Paradise and replace the hell he's in. We are victims.
Host: But these were civilians.
Shalah: What "civilians"?
Host: When you carry out an operation against the Israeli army, you are not required to...
Shalah:The most important Arab journalist...
Host: But against 16-year-old girls who went shopping?
Shalah: Look, some time ago I heard (Muhammad Hassanein) Heikel, who is the most prominent Arab journalist, one of the most important Arab journalists these days, and he said that the distinction between civilians and soldiers in a modern state - a Nation State - is a lie. This civilian uses ballot boxes to bring Sharon to power, and she supports his policy.
Host: They will support Sharon even more now.
Shalah: I don't care. I condemn the killing of civilians in London and New York, by the way, but I do not condemn the killing of civilians in Netanya, because the people in Netanya live on my land, and they are killing me in Tulkarm, Jibalya, and Gaza.
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