Hamas officials said Saturday that contrary to media reports, its reply to the Goldstone commission contained no apologies for targeting Israeli civilians with rocket fire, nor for the abduction of Sgt. Gilad Shalit. Hamas justice minister Muhammad Faraj Al-Ghoul told reporters "there were no apologies," and added that "the Israeli occupation was held accountable for any claims of civilian casualties because they committed the assault and the holocaust [of the people in Gaza].” Reuters reported that the document Hamas sent the Goldstone commission had addressed the Israeli public, saying: "We hope the Israeli civilians understand that their government's continued attacks on us were the key issue and the cause." The document further noted that "the Palestinian resistance... is not an organized army that possesses developed technological weapons... It may target a military site or a tank position and their fire goes astray ... and hit a civilian location, despite their efforts to avoid hurting civilians." Regarding Gilad Shalit, the document claimed that his abductors took responsibility for his capture and provided audio and video evidence that he was in good health. Allowing Red Cross visits would involve revealing his whereabouts, it said, and this would "endanger his life because Israel would likely bomb the place. Al-Ghoul said that the document was submitted by the government in Gaza, and not by the Hamas movement or any of the resistance factions. "There is a difference between these elements," he said. Al-Ghoul added that the 'Palestinians' have a right to resistance, and said that as long as the Israeli “occupation of Palestine” continued, the missile fire would go on.
