400 Terrorist Attacks in 5 Years

During the past week or I have read commentary, been sent email or taken part in discussions in which people have served as terrorist apologists for groups like Hamas. It is considered in vogue and cool to explain to others how the US/Israel/Europe or the West in general is actually responsible for the actions of the terrorists.

It is a condescending attitude in which they essentially say that the poor terrorist had no other way to express themselves beyond murdering others. Pathetic apology if you ask me. Anyway I thought that this was interesting.

Hamas Details Past Attacks in Gaza Strip

"GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas militants, jockeying to take credit for Israel's Gaza Strip pullout, said they were involved in 54 percent of 400 attacks on Israeli targets in Gaza in the past five years.

The figures appeared on a Hamas Web site Monday, the day Israel set out to clear the last of its 21 Gaza settlements, Netzarim. Hamas said its numbers were reliable because they were culled from Israeli military statistics — a claim that could not immediately be verified.

Hamas and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have been engaged in fierce competition over who will be credited with the Gaza pullout, a unilateral Israeli move. Hamas said its attacks have driven Israel out, while Abbas hopes to gain political capital from eventual improvement in the daily life of Gazans as a result of the withdrawal.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the figures "are a document of Hamas' struggle and Hamas' role in liberating this precious part of the homeland."

They show that "resistance is the Palestinians' strategy of choice," Abu Zuhri said.

"It made this victory possible, and this victory can be repeated," he said, referring to Israel's Gaza withdrawal.

According to the figures posted by Hamas, the group was involved in 217 of 400 attacks against Israeli targets between September 2000, when the second Palestinian uprising against Israel began, and Aug. 15, 2005, the date Israel began pulling out of Gaza.

The Al Aqsa Brigades, affiliated with Abbas' ruling Fatahparty, were responsible for 22 attacks, or 5.5 percent of the total. The Islamic Jihad carried out 34 attacks, or 8.5 percent of the total, according to the Hamas claim.

Hamas also claimed responsibility for killing 79 of the 167 Israeli soldiers who the group said died in militant attacks in Gaza in the past five years. Other factions killed 37 soldiers, or 22.2 percent of the total. Fifty-one soldiers, or 30.5 percent of the total, died in joint operations, Hamas said.

Hamas also suffered the most fatalities, according to the group's statistics. A total of 145 of the 215 militants killed, or 67.5 percent, belonged to Hamas. Islamic Jihad ranked second, with 28 gunmen dead, followed by Fatah, with 23 fatalities.

Deadly Hamas attacks on Israeli targets waned this year after the group entered into an informal truce with Israel. Abu Zuhri said the truce was in force until the end of the year."

The line in the story that says "145 of the 215 militants killed" caught my eye. How many of these attacks were launched by suicide bombers. They were not killed by Israel, they killed themselves and that is an important distinction.

400 attacks and that only covers Gaza. Just consider how many in total were committed.