Responses to Bin Laden’s Death: the Litmus Test for Negotiating Peace

By Channah Barkhordari

No one who values human life needs to be convinced that Osama bin Laden was an inexpressibly horrific category of terrorist. No one who understands the basic right of all to live in safety questions the fact that the mastermind behind the deaths of 3,000 innocent victims on the morning of September 11, 2001 needed to be brought to justice.

And on May 1, 2011, those who recognized bin Laden was dedicated to our destruction, leading “the worst attack on the American people in our country’s history,” did not hesitate to express genuine relief that he has been eradicated from the world.

Indeed, when bin Laden’s death was officially announced, the American people answered in celebration.

Even leaving aside the question of whether it is more appropriate to respond by rallying and chanting or heaving a long, sobering sigh of relief, one thing is painfully clear: to mourn, denounce and sickeningly glorify his death—to admire his genocidal dream—is to become an extension of his bloodcurdling ambitions.

Yet immediately following bin Laden’s death, top members of the Palestinian leadership unabashedly chose to proclaim their condemnations, anger, zealous emulation, and promises of revenge.

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas, the Iranian-backed and internationally recognized terrorist faction democratically elected to rule the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip in 2007, called bin Laden a “martyr,” and proclaimed that they “condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior.”

“We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood," Haniyeh said.

Though Palestinian Authority spokesmen such as Ghassan Khatib outwardly called bin Laden’s fall “good for the cause of peace worldwide,” the PA’s military wing, the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, sang a very different tune.

In an official statement published on May 3, 2011, they wrote, “The Islamic nation awoke to a catastrophe the reports of the Shahid - (Martyr-) death of the Sheikh, Jihad-fighter Osama bin Laden, in a treacherous manner, by the gangs of the heretics and those who stray.” They continued that in death, bin Laden was “leaving behind an entire generation that follows the path of Sheikh Osama.”

In the same hour, Issmat Hamouri, an official of the Palestinian Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir, preached a more direct message of revenge to his followers. He had this to say to worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque situated atop the historically Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and regarded by the Islamic religion as its third holiest shrine:

“The Western dogs are rejoicing after killing one of our Islamic lions. From al-Aqsa mosque, where the future Caliphate will originate with the help of God, we say to them: the dogs will not rejoice too much for killing the lions.” In a tirade against President Obama, Hamouri threatened, “You personally instructed to kill Muslims. You should know that soon you'll hang together with Bush Junior."

If the global community of peace seekers has forgotten how to tell the difference between a friend and a foe, the responses to bin Laden’s death offers it a true litmus test.

There can be no doubt that the safety of our nations—their men, women and children alike—must be safeguarded more preciously by us than they are despised and targeted by our enemies. There can be no doubt that those who intend to follow in bin Laden’s footsteps and murder masses of Americans, Israelis, and all those who value democratic freedoms, are not interested in peace.

The world cannot expect to negotiate with the recently unified Hamas and Fatah factions, each composed of leading members who mourn bin Laden’s death, proclaim him a holy martyr, and have openly sworn to take vengeance. Their sentiments expose their intentions: like bin Laden, they desire our complete destruction.

In the face of these common enemies, America and Israel cannot afford to stand idly by with empty words. We must oppose them wherever they exist. We must recognize that there will be no peace until we are valued for our humanity.

Additional Reading:

Will PA-Hamas Reconciliation Threaten Other Palestinian Commitments? David Makovsky, The Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy PolicyWatch #1803

Muslim Reactions to bin Laden’s Death Toni Johnson, Council on Foreign Relations

Who Else is Condemning the US for Killing bin Laden? Michael D. Halevi, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

A Bad Deal: Why Palestinian unity wont lead to peace Dore Gold, Foreign Policy

The Hamas and Al Qaeda Parallel Michael Freud, The Jerusalem Post

Bin Laden Versus Yassin Manfred Gerstenfeld Ynet News