"It is an irony of fate (or a triumph of folly) that Hamas was created, in fact, with the help of Israel itself. Much as the Americans created the al-Qaeda of Osama bin Laden in order to fight against the Soviet army in Afghanistan, Israel supported the Islamic movement in the occupied territories as a counterweight to the PLO. The assumption was that pious Muslims would spend their time praying in the mosques and would not support the secular PLO, which was then considered the arch-enemy. But when the first intifada broke out at the end of 1987, the Islamists organized as Hamas (the Arabic initials of "Islamic Resistance Movement") and quickly became the most efficient underground fighting organization. However, the Security Service started to act against them only after a whole year of the intifada had passed."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Red Herring (June 21, 2005)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Uri_Avnery
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Uri Avnery
israelischer Schriftsteller, Journalist und Politiker
13 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Uri Avnery →
Related Quotes
"It seems that most religions are obsessed with sex. They assume that if a religious male sees a woman, whatever her a…"
"America controls the world, we control America. Never before have Jews exerted such an immense influence on the cente…"
"The only people who have an official confirmation that they are sane are those who have been released from psychiatri…"
"By that time it was already clear that the next prime minister was going to be Golda Meir, a woman whom I frankly det…"
"Sartawi and I are sitting in a small restaurant on the Boulevard St. Germain. After the main course, he excuses himse…"
"[Henry] Kissinger has always been a paradox for me. I was profoundly impressed by his book about European politics in…"
"I have often wondered how different Zionism might have been if Herzl had not been a Viennese journalist but a shopkee…"
"James Baker was the only leader in America who had the guts to stand up and act against Israel's malignant disease: t…"
"Critics of the war plans (including myself) have pointed to the disastrous political results that must be expected: I…"
"Every honest Jew who knows the history of his people cannot but feel a deep sense of gratitude to Islam, which has pr…"