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Mahmoud Zahar, victorious superstar. (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners September 13, 2005 |
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| Zahar conquers a Neve Dekalim synagogue. |
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Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar entered the desecrated synagogue of the former Gaza Jewish community of Kfar Darom Monday. Four of the nearly two dozen synagogues Israel left standing in Gaza were burned by Palestinian mobs earlier in the day, and at least one was bulldozed by the Palestinian Authority.
The Washington Post described the arrival in the ransacked synagogue: "In the early afternoon, a noisy convoy carrying Mahmoud Zahar, a senior official of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, rolled through the settlement's torched gatehouse. Zahar's pickup truck was filled with Hamas gunmen and was followed by a truck blaring martial anthems and announcing Zahar's arrival to thousands of Palestinians."
The Post report continued: "Shattered glass crunched under the feet of Zahar's entourage as he entered the synagogue building. Few Palestinians paused from prying electrical cords from the walls or smashing free an air-conditioning unit as Zahar passed. Someone handed him a hammer, which he swung vigorously against a wall. 'Our resistance has succeeded in ending the . . . occupation in Gaza,' Zahar said, referring to Israel. 'This first step will be followed by a second step' which was, he said, to rebuild Gaza and wage 'an effective armed resistance in the West Bank,' which Jews call by the biblical names Judea and Samaria.
Hamas is expected to become the second largest parliamentary faction in January's Palestinian Legislative Council election.
Ahmad Jabari, another senior figure in Hamas, said that Hamas would continue to attack Israel. "The withdrawal proves that the resistance is the only legitimate weapon. We will strike at any hand that reaches for our weapons," said Jabari.
Many in Israel, meanwhile, said the scenes of Muslim intolerance and unbridled desecration from Gaza proved the Judeo-Christian world was embroiled in a religious battle with Islam.
"The burning of synagogues by Arab rioters proves again that this is a religious war, based on a hatred for Judaism, and not merely political hostility," leading rabbis from Judea and Samaria said in an official statement.
They said the only way to win this war was "by connecting to the Torah, Land and Nation of Israel."
National Religious Party MK Gila Finkelstein noted that more than desiring their own state, the "Palestinian" Muslims "want to destroy every Jewish trace" from this biblical land.
Jerusalem Newswire contributed to this report.
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