"Whatever causes damage to the Israeli side is a gain for the Palestinian nation, as far as we're concerned. Clearly it had negative consequences for the Palestinian side too, but the negative effect on the Israeli side was more important to us: In terms of economics there was a huge regression in growth and a loss of billions of dollars to the Israeli economy. The cracks in your steadfastness encouraged us greatly and proved that this means (suicide bombing) is very effective. Ariel Sharon's plan for disengagement from the Gaza Strip is also a great achievement that is a result of our activities. One of the best proofs for us of the rift created in Israeli society as a result of the suicide attacks was the phenomenon of refusal to serve in the army. We thought that this rift should be deepened, and the use of the weapon of suicide bombers became a matter of consensus in the organization."
15/08/2008
Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a Hamas MP
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"We have a nostalgia to be a superpower again, and the country's nuclear ambitions are directly related to this desire."
11/08/2008
Saeed Laylaz, an economic and political analyst in Tehran
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The Arabs no longer have an enemy except themselves. They are even unable to defeat one another. It appears that their limited capacities explain this tense state of affairs within themselves, as no group is able to achieve victory over the others, whether by silencing or doing away with them. Thus, fear prevails that the "brother-enemies" will remain in such a situation until they do away with each other all at once.
30/07/2008
Mohammad Salah, contributor and journalist for Dar Al Hayat
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"None of us can afford to let such apocalyptic weapons get into the hands of the fanatical ayatollahs, whose disregard for human life has been demonstrated many times over."
20/07/2008
Colonel Richard Kemp, former senior advisor to the UK cabinet on international terrorism and security, and an army veteran of 30 years who commanded British forces in Afghanistan in 2003
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"If we have to choose between Iranian nuclear deterrence and intimidation, or accept military action as a solution, we'll accept military action. We in the Gulf can live with Iranian retaliation for a week or a month. That's manageable compared to the possibility that Iran will be a nuclear power. We would not be participants. We would be beneficiaries. But no one will say this in public."
11/07/2008
Mustafa Alani of the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai discusses the Arab point of view on a possible military confrontation involving Iran
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What is most revealing about Arab governments' intentions on human rights - and the National Human Rights Institutions' helplessness - is the recent crackdown in many countries on human rights defenders. The past two years have witnessed a noticeable decline in conditions for defenders of human rights in Arab countries. Measures taken against them have ranged from harassment, restrictions on movement, arbitrary arrest, trial on various charges, the closure of organizations working on human rights, to the refusal to grant legal status to new local organizations or branches of international organizations. Arab National Human Rights Institutions have been conspicuously silent on such cases.
04/07/2008
Moataz el-Fegiery, executive director of the Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies
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"It is hypocritical to concentrate on the Palestine crisis and pay little attention on the African conflicts involving OIC member states. The OIC must resolve the issue of Darfur in the Sudan where Arabs are in conflict with black Africans."
23/06/2008
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting
An Arab human rights panel on Friday scolded the Islamic world for its silence on the conflict in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.
"The suffering of Muslims in Darfur is as real as that happening in Iraq and Palestine," said the Arab Coalition for Darfur in a statement on the sidelines of an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting here.
"The Islamic world's response to the daily killings and suffering of millions of Muslims in Darfur has been largely silent, from both civil society as well as from institutions and majority of Islamic governments," it said.
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"When the Israelis ruled Gaza people lived like kings. Only when the army go into Gaza can they finish it."
13/06/2008
Anonymous Palestinian who fled Gaza to live in Israel
Taken from a Guardian article titled ' A secret fresh start: former Palestinian collaborators forge new life in Israel' by Rory McCarthy
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"The Muslim nations must first and foremost purge themselves of [elements] that use Islam and its teachings as a disguise [i.e.] in order to present their crimes against humanity as jihad in the name of Allah... It is inconceivable that the teachings [of Islam] should justify the murder of dozens, [even] thousands, of innocent people. It is such iniquities that have corrupted the image of Islam in the eyes of non-Muslims."
08/06/2008
Bahraini columnist Abdallah Al-Ayoubi in an article in the Bahraini daily Akhbar Al-Khaleej
The recent re-publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad by the Danish press and release of Dutch MP Geert Wilders' film "Fitna" have precipitated a wave of Muslim protest, some of it violent, throughout the world. Following these developments, several Arab columnists wrote to condemn the violent reactions, arguing that the Muslims themselves had committed iniquity against both their coreligionists and everyone else, thereby harming the name of Islam.
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"I give you my promise and oath that my only place will be in the fighting front soaked with the sweat of your giving and with the blood of the shahids, the dearest people, and that I will continue your way until we reach a full victory. I send my best wishes and promise of renewed loyalty to you, sir, and to all the Jihad fighters."
30/05/2008
Soon to be released terrorist Samir Kuntar in a letter to Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Terrorist and child murderer samir Kuntar has vowed to return to Jihad and terrorism once he is released from an israeli jail, where he is serving four life sentences for mutiple murder.
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"Nasrallah implemented the teachings of Imam Khomeini and defended the theory of Wilayat el Faqih (Absolute theocratic power over a state)"
29/05/2008
Newly Elected (Majlis) Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani
The newly elected ( Majlis) parliament speaker Ali Larijani praised Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah the leader of Hezbollah " as true son of the founder of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini."
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"I'd burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt."
25/05/2008
Egypt's Culture Minister Faruq Hosni, a candidate to head UNESCO
Egypt's Culture Minister Faruq Hosni, a candidate to head UNESCO, has drawn fire from Israel and the Wiesenthal Centre for saying he was prepared to burn Israeli books.
"I'd burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt," Hosni said in parliament on May 10 in reply to questioning from an opposition MP.
The comment, which Hosni admits making but which he says must be put into perspective, sparked an official protest from Israel's ambassador in Cairo Shalom Cohen to the foreign ministry.
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"It is important to emphasise to the outside world - and most people don't understand - that we're trying to urge Israel to get fuel into Gaza, and then the extremists come and kill the people bringing the fuel in. It's a crazy situation."
18/05/2008
Tony Blair, Quartet Peace Envoy
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"Israel makes us Arabs feel bad. It has no oil, no resources, no nothing, but it wins wars and, if we're honest, looks like a nice place to live. It exposes our own failings and that's why so many of us hate it."
30/04/2008
Ibrahim Rajoub, who was visiting Palestinian relatives on the West Bank last week from his home in Jordan
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"It is a tactic in conducting the struggle. ... It is normal for any resistance that operates in its people's interest ... to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit...the battle is to be run this way and Hamas is known for that. In 2003, there was a cease-fire and then the operations were resumed."
27/04/2008
Hamas Leader Khaled Mashaal on the Offer of a Truce
The Damascus-based Mashaal said in an interview with al-Jazeera television that Egypt had proposed a six-month truce between the Hamas rulers of Gaza and Israel.
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