By Mariam Al-Thany, IOL Qatar correspondent

DOHA, June 4 (IslamOnline) – It is a war against Israeli occupation, that had and still is violating the Arab lands, with its churches and mosques, killing Palestinians and destroying houses, said Youssef Al-Qaradawi in an interview with Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel on Sunday, May 2, 2002.

“We do not fight Israelis because they are Jews, but because they took our land, killed our children and profaned our holy places,” adding that Arabs are not against Zionism as a part of Judaism.

“The battle is a battle of land, rather than one of belief,” he added.

Jews are living in many Arab countries and are treated as normal citizens as long as they live peacefully, he said.

He also said that Arabs are Semitic, so they can not be anti-Semitic. “Jews are our cousins, but they did not honor this kinship,” he added.

What is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an about the enmity between Muslims and Jews is not a call to fight them, rather, it is a way of showing their history, values, and manners, so one can use caution when dealing with them, Al-Qaradawi said.

“The Palestinians did not start the aggression, the Israelis did when they attacked Palestine and kicked its citizens out.

“The intifada is a reaction to the continuous Israeli aggression,” he added.

Al-Qaradawi also warned against skepticism about aid reaching the Palestinians, as this attitude could lead to stop this aid, which will serve Israel rather than the Palestinian cause and resistance.

“This aid must continue, so does the boycott, it is the least the Arab and Islamic populations can give to the Palestinians,” he said.

Concerning the issue of normalization with Israel, Al-Qaradawi said that it is not only forbidden [haram], but one of the biggest sins a Muslim can do, so are the conferences held to give up Arab and Islamic rights.

“It is a great mistake committed by the decision makers who think they can reach an agreement with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,” he said.

He added that resistance is the only solution to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Al-Qaradawi concluded his talk by saying that the Arab media has been a failure, as it was not able to fight the Israeli media which distorts facts and changes history making themselves the weak victims in any situation.

“We need millions of cash to be used in different kinds of media in order to correct the false information the Israelis are diffusing in America and the West,” he said.