A time for joy and reflection

We cheer the hard-won release of Alan Johnston, who was captured in a chaos imposed from afar

Khalid Mish'al
Thursday July 5, 2007
The Guardian

Contributed by Lucia

"Together with all freedom loving peoples, we in the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, shared the moment of sheer joy yesterday when Alan Johnston stepped out of the darkness of captivity into the light of freedom. We pay tribute to the stoic dignity with which the BBC correspondent in Gaza bore his ordeal. We commend the patience and faith of his parents and all the British, Palestinian and other people around the world who campaigned and prayed for his release. From the outset, we committed ourselves to securing his release. I entered into discussions with British officials, shared information and gave assurances of our concerted efforts to secure Alan's release.

The Palestinian people have been struggling for their freedom for almost a century. In our own land we have been denied basic human rights by an occupier that has enjoyed, under various spurious guises, international support. As Alan Johnston returns home, we hope that the British, and people the world over, reflect on the fact that more than 12,000 Palestinians are languishing in Israeli jails, unjustly denied their freedom. They include ministers of a democratically elected government, parliamentarians, women and even children. Like Alan, they all have loved ones who long to see them again. Many of these hapless captives are their families' breadwinners. But the reality today in occupied Palestine is that there is no bread to win because the international community has imposed comprehensive sanctions on the Palestinians, denying them even the most basic necessities for survival. All of this is done to coerce us into accepting the occupier's terms......

It is in this context that we condemn the attempted attacks in London and Glasgow - as we have done in the past after attacks in Spain and the US. We could not be clearer: Hamas will not accept nor tolerate anyone exploiting the sacred cause of the Palestinian people to commit acts of murder and carnage around the world. Our strategy has always been and remains firmly based on the principle that the resistance should be fought only within Palestine....."