PLAYBOY: Do you acknowledge that some Palestinian behavior over the years, including hijacking and the use of suicide bombers, has been wrong and has added to the problem?
THOMAS: In an ideal world passive resistance and world disarmament would be great. Unfortunately we don’t live in that world. Of course I don’t condone any violence against anyone. But who wouldn’t fight for their country? What would any American do if their land was being taken? Remember Pearl Harbor. The Palestinian violence is to protect what little remains of Palestine. The suicide bombers act out of despair and desperation. Three generations of Palestinians have been forced out of their homes—by Israelis—and into refugee camps. And the Israelis are still bulldozing Palestinians’ homes in East Jerusalem. Remember, Menachem Begin invented terrorism as his MO—and bragged about it in his first book. That’s how Israel was created, aided and abetted by U.S. money and arms. To annex and usurp an occupied people’s country is illegal under international law. The Israelis know that, but their superior military force has always prevailed against the indigenous people.
As for Arab terror in Mandate Palestine, that preceded, of course, any acts of reprisal and defense of the Hagana and the Irgun, a short historical summary is here.
Suggested further reading:
Terror Out of Zion: The Fight for Israeli Independence
What Happened in Palestine: The Events of August, 1929: Their Background and Significance
Palestine Betrayed
The revolt
The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism: Adolf Hitler and Haj Amin al-Husseini
Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam
Nazi Palestine: The Plans for the Extermination of the Jews in Palestine
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