A window into the culture of Shahada

by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

Sheikh Salah Shehadeh

A recent article in the Hamas newspaper, commemorating the anniversary of the death of the commander of its suicide terror branch, is a window into the culture of Shahada, martyrdom for Allah.

Sheikh Salah Shehadeh, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades suicide terror branch of Hamas, was killed by an Israeli air strike five years ago. He is credited with creating the current military infrastructure of the Al-Qassam Brigades, which has killed hundreds of Israelis. Its targets were almost exclusively civilians -- 30 people at the Park Hotel in Netanya at Passover in 2002, 21 young people, mostly teenagers, at the Dolphinarium nightclub in Tel Aviv in 2001 and 15 Israelis at the Sbarro pizza parlor in Jerusalem in 2001, to name just a few of the group's massacres.

A July 23rd article marking the anniversary of his death in the official Hamas newspaper, Al-Risalah, reveals the ways in which he organized and encouraged those he sent on suicide missions.

The article says that from the moment he was released after 20 years in an Israeli prison, he dedicated his life to organizing the Al-Qassam Brigades and uniting disorganized efforts into a single military-style operation. He encouraged his men to innovate, and as soon as he saw that a particular type of action would serve this movement – such as the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel – he made this part of his strategy.

To read more: http://www.pmw.org.il/