Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is ‘proud’ of terrorists who killed and kidnapped Israelis saying ‘either soldiers or civilians, they are all enemies’

A former Hamas leader said he is ‘proud’ of the terrorists who killed and kidnapped Israeli civilians.

Hamas foreign relations chief Khalid Meshaal said they are “either soldiers or civilians, they are all enemies.”

Meshaal, based in Qatar, claimed it was “an attempt to end the Israeli occupation” and that the conflict did not start last week, but in 1948 – the year Israel was created.

He told Turkey’s Haberturk TV: “Israel has said that their army was the strongest and invincible. When we saw that they were defeated in a few hours, we were also surprised.’

Meshaal was asked about attacks on civilians, including children and the elderly, he said: “We kept telling them not to do this. But in times of war, these incidents can happen. Isn’t that what Israel always says, that they didn’t do it (kill civilians) on purpose?’

Hamas foreign relations chief Khalid Meshaal said they are “either soldiers or civilians, they are all enemies.”

Meshaal, who is based in Qatar, claimed it was “an attempt to end the Israeli occupation” and that the conflict did not start last week, but in 1948 – the year Israel was created.

He claimed there was a ‘huge difference’ between what Hamas and Israel were doing when asked if he was being hypocritical.

“We are the owners of this land. When the enemy comes from outside, be it soldiers or civilians, they are all enemies. Whoever comes to my land (to occupy it) is an enemy and guilty.”

It came just days after the former chief called for protests across the Muslim world in support of the Palestinians on Friday and for the peoples of neighboring countries to join the fight against Israel.

“We must go to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,” said Khaled Meshaal, who currently heads Hamas’ diaspora office.

Meshaal said the governments and peoples of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have a greater duty to support the Palestinians.

“The tribes of Jordan, the sons of Jordan, the brothers and sisters of Jordan… This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility,” Meshaal said in a recorded statement. “For all the scholars who teach jihad… for all those who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application (of the theories).’

Jordan and Lebanon are home to the largest number of Palestinian refugees.

Meshaal’s call for a Friday the 13th uprising was echoed by Hamas itself, according to the Israel-run Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

MEMRI said Hamas called on its supporters in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel to rise up in what it called the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ – echoing what Palestinian mastermind Mohammed Deif calls the attack he started on Saturday against Israel.

The phrase Israel’s most wanted man used in an audio tape broadcast when Hamas fired thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip over the weekend signaled that the attack was their payback for Israeli raids on Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque.

“We declare next Friday, ‘Al-Aqsa Flood Friday’, as a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world,” said Meshaal’s statement. which was sent to Reuters. news agency.

“It is a day to gather support, offer help and actively participate.

“It is a day to expose the crimes of the occupation, to isolate it and undo all its aggressive schemes. It is a day to demonstrate our love for Palestine, Jerusalem and Al-Aksan.

“It is a day for sacrifice, heroism and devotion and to earn the honor of protecting the first Qibla of Muslims, the third holiest mosque and the ascension of the trusted Messenger.”