HAMAS militants want civilian casualties

January 11, 2009
Good Article by NYT Correspondent Taghreed el-Khodary from Gaza
Filed under: Arab-Israeli Conflict, Are We Waking Up Yet?, Global Jihad,

Media, Nail on the Head, Palestinian Culture  Richard Landes @ 12:51 am

I complain regularly about a) the Grey Ladys Middle East coverage, and b) 
Arab correspondents who wrap their advocacy up in a pretence of reporting. 
And theres plenty of both in this current conflict to keep my mill going 
for a long time. But yesterdays paper has a remarkable piece by Taghreed 
el-Khodary in Gaza about the contrast between Palestinian civilian victims 
and the mad warriors of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Note in particular how 
Taghreed challenges the fighter in the name of the civilians. Thats a lot 
more than any BBC or CNN anchor Ive been watching has done.

     Fighter Sees His Paradise in Gazas Pain
     By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY
     Published: January 8, 2009

     GAZA CITY  The emergency room in Shifa Hospital is often a place of 
gore and despair. On Thursday, it was also a lesson in the way ordinary 
people are squeezed between suicidal fighters and a military behemoth.

     Dr. Awni al-Jaru, 37, a surgeon at the hospital, rushed in from his 
home here, dressed in his scrubs. But he came not to work. His head was 
bleeding, and his daughters jaw was broken.

     He said Hamas militants next to his apartment building had fired 
mortar and rocket rounds. Israel fired back with force, and his apartment 
was hit. His wife, Albina, originally from Ukraine, and his 1-year-old son 
were killed.

     My son has been turned into pieces, he cried. My wife was cut in half. 
I had to leave her body at home. Because Albina was a foreigner, she could 
have left Gaza with her children. But, Dr. Jaru lamented, she would not 
leave him behind.

     A car arrived with more patients. One was a 21-year-old man with 
shrapnel in his left leg who demanded quick treatment. He turned out to be 
a militant with Islamic Jihad. He was smiling a big smile.

     Hurry, I must get back so I can keep fighting, he told the doctors.

     He was told that there were more serious cases than his, that he 
needed to wait. But he insisted. We are fighting the Israelis, he said. 
When we fire we run, but they hit back so fast. We run into the houses to 
get away. He continued smiling.

     Why are you so happy? this reporter asked. Look around you.

     A girl who looked about 18 screamed as a surgeon removed shrapnel from 
her leg. An elderly man was soaked in blood. A baby a few weeks old and 
slightly wounded looked around helplessly. A man lay with parts of his 
brain coming out. His family wailed at his side.

     Dont you see that these people are hurting? the militant was asked.

     But I am from the people, too, he said, his smile incandescent. They 
lost their loved ones as martyrs. They should be happy. I want to be a 
martyr, too.