A press statement issued by Naser Oweis - leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Palestine:

First, we would like to announce with pride and dignity to you the martyrdom of Mohammed Hashaika from Tallouza village. This martyr who proved to all that there wont be peace, security or solution as long as the slaughterer Sharon insists on keeping occupation and commits all kinds of ugly and atrocious crimes against our people. Martyr Hashaika, member of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, proved that our Brigades are leading the path of Jihad and resistance and martyrdom until the Zionist occupation leaves our homeland forever; any partial solutions do not exist in the lexicon of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades; our lexicon has only one sentence: we have had a right for dozens of years and this right has been recognized by the entire world; we have the right to eliminate the oppression and occupation; we have the right to establish our independent Palestinian state; we have the right to purify our capital Jerusalem from occupation; we have the right of return; without those rights, our resistance will continue and our people who are supporting us and joining our Brigades will constitute the nucleus of our future popular army that will achieve victory and liberate the land and regain the rights.

As for our PNA, we are proud of our leader and symbol Abu Ammar lives with his own people under the besiege of tanks in this big jail that is imposed on us by occupation due to the blockade and strangling closure.

We say to our PNA, you have experienced Zionists together with Americans for dozens of times. What was the response? USA, with all rudeness sided, by the oppressor against the oppressed (with Israel against the Palestinians). Then by its control and domination over the world and its media means, it has converted the legitimate resistance into terror and the Zionist terror into self-defense.

How many times did Israel and US meet their commitments to the Palestinians? None. What do you say about the two UN resolutions 242 and 338, which were issued in the sixties and by US and international approval? Why Israel does not abide by them in addition to the rest resolutions between PLO and Israel? Who violate them? Who blasted them? Isn't Israel? After all of that, is there trust in Zionists and who support them with money and arms by which they kill us on daily basis? There is absolutely no trust neither in Israel nor US? We have trust in God because we have the rights. We trust our resistance. Israel does not need excuses to kill our people, demolish our houses, and assassinate our heroes and our strugglers.

National unity between PNA and the people in facing Zionist aggression against our camps and cities should be strengthened. There is no use from holding meetings and achieving agreements that are not based on immediate withdrawal of the ugly occupation from our land. We call for peace and not war. We use our right that is guaranteed by all covenants in protecting ourselves and our rights in resistance until liberation, God willing.

Regarding the US Department decision to include al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the list of terrorist organizations, we say: this is a medal of honor that we hang on our chests since the criminal and terrorist USA, which killed dozens of thousands of innocent Moslems in Iraq and Afghanistan, destructed mosques and houses and sponsors the first state of terror and crime in the world (Israel), put us on the list of whom defend their right and people against oppression, the last occupation in the world and against the ugliest known occupation in history. This occupation has killed in cold blood a 4-year-old girl in Rafah who joins Iman Hijou, Muhammad al-Dura, Fares Odeh and all of our innocent martyr children whose number is more than 500 children fell by Israeli bullets and shells of the ugliest US-made Zionist war machine.

On this occasion, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades reiterate that they will continue in the path of resistance and martyrdom without caring to the US decision.

This decision is an attempt to mislead the world and divert the view from the main problem and the major cause of disorder in the Middle East, which is the ugly, unfair and terrorist Israeli occupation. We are going to continue with our armed resistance. We are not going to sleep in our homes. We will wait for tanks, shells, and bullets that belong to slaughterer Sharon to kill us. However, we swear to God that we will try to die for the sake of God and we will race towards martyrdom.

If al-Aqsa martyrs' brigades say, they will implement.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades

22 March 2002