A Middle East expert testifying Monday for the defense at the trial of Mohammed Salah debated prosecutors about whether Palestinian suicide bombers should be called terrorists.
Khaled Hroub, director of the Arab Media Project at the University of Cambridge in England, testified extensively about the militant Palestinian group Hamas and steered the trial, now in its 10th week, back into familiar territory of arguments about which side bears more blame for the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Salah, 53, of Bridgeview, is on trial for federal racketeering charges alleging he served as a U.S.-based military leader of Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. A key element of his defense is that American prosecutors have no business picking sides in the intractable Middle East clash.
Hroub is an expert on Hamas, a hard-line group whose founding charter calls for the eradication of Israel and establishment of an Islamic state through violence. Although Hroub downplayed the significance of the nearly 20-year-old Hamas charter, he admitted the group hasn’t amended or denounced it and still doesn’t formally recognize the existence of Israel.
“Jihad is its methodology,” a section of the Hamas charter states. “Death for the sake of God is its most coveted desire.”
Monday’s testimony in the Chicago courtroom came as Hamas leaders on the other side of the world battle a rival Palestinian faction to hold on to political power recently won in elections in the Occupied Territories.
The strong presence of Hamas, which has refused to participate in peace negotiations with Israel, within the Palestinian government has served to sever diplomatic ties with the West and put a stranglehold on foreign aid to the impoverished territories.
Hroub said the tough living conditions in the territories under the long-running Israeli rule ultimately helped strengthen support for Hamas, which operates an extensive social welfare network. He also described a wicked cycle -- harsh Israeli security tactics that spark Palestinian attacks that in turn trigger further Israeli crackdowns.
“I am fully aware of the justifications for the Israeli defense measures,” Hroub said. “But they have an enormous effect on the everyday lives of ordinary Palestinians. This means they breed more and more Palestinian military actions.”
Under cross-examination, Hroub acknowledged those “military actions” include Hamas suicide bombings. He repeatedly was pressed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ferguson about why he wouldn’t call the suicide strikes terrorism.
“This is very problematic,” Hroub said. “This is simplification.”
Hroub said the Hamas suicide bombers should be called terrorists only if the same label is attached to Israeli soldiers and military commanders. He also suggested that the Palestinian militants have resorted to crude suicide bombs only because they don’t have the sophisticated military technology of the Israelis.
“What is the difference between this guy who blows himself up on a bus and the Israeli bombs dropped on a refugee camp in Gaza?” Hroub said. “The end result is the same -- killing civilians.”
Chris Hack may be reached at
chack@dailysouthtown.com
