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Hamas Producing Another Palestinian Generation that Believes in Resistance

[New York Times] Taghreed El-Khodary - At a sports stadium in Gaza one recent October evening, 300 newly married couples along with relatives and friends gathered for a mass wedding celebration, the 10th here this year courtesy of Hamas. Hamas has been observing a truce with Israel since June, allowing its underground fighters to resurface but leaving them without much to do. At the same time, hundreds of the group's women have been recently widowed, their husbands having been killed either in confrontations with Israel or in fighting between Hamas and Fatah. Taking advantage of the pause in violence, the Hamas leaders have turned to matchmaking, bringing together single fighters and widows, and providing dowries and wedding parties for the many who cannot afford such trappings of matrimony. "Marriage is the same as jihad," or holy war, said Muhammad Yousef, one recently married member of the Qassam Brigades, the Hamas underground. "With marriage, you are producing another generation that believes in resistance." The night before the mass wedding party, Yousef said, his wife shared with him her ultimate wish: to carry out a joint suicide attack against Israel.
2008-10-31 01:00:00
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