Israel's War Against Hamas - Updates

[Sixties Fan]

Israeli-Arab reservists are fighting fake news in Arabic​

They served in the IDF in a variety of roles, and now they have been sent to help present the facts of the Hamas attack to the Arab world; 'Everyone was shocked by Hamas, which is against Islam'​

Yahya Mahamid, 26, from Umm al-Fahm, will report to the IDF Spokesman's Office on Sunday. The Israeli Arab who served in the 50th Battalion of the Nahal unit was recently recruited into the Arabic language spokesman's array, after proving in his civilian life that he knows how to speak for the state, and gained experience working with recognized Israeli and Jewish organizations.

This will be the second time that Mahamid serves in the reserves as an IDF spokesman. "Although I did my regular service as a soldier, I prefer to serve where I am most useful. If they had told me that I was more useful at the front, I would have gone there," he says just before putting on his uniform again.

Mahamid knows exactly what he is getting himself into. In times of war when many false reports are spread, he understands the difficulty he faces in explaining the Israeli side to the Arab world. "The IDF spokesman understands fake news and how to fight it. It's a nuclear weapon being used against our flag. We, the crew of the barges, protect Israel because we are an iron dome in the cyberworld," he said.

At the time, Mahamid had no doubts about whether to enlist in the IDF, and the situation is the same now, when he was called to the reserves. "I grew up with an education against the Jewish people. I did not learn about the Holocaust, and in history we were taught that everything began in 1948. After I finished school, when I went out into the world, I found that I had the wrong upbringing. That's why I started my advocacy campaign in Arabic. I wanted to share with as many people as possible that there is fake news here that they repeat over and over again."

When he was 18 years old, it was not easy for Mahamid amid to enlist in the army. In Umm El Fahm, few people enlist, and Mahamid was looking for a way to contact the IDF so that they would know that he was interested in enlisting. The Arabs of Israel saw the horrors that took place on the first day of the fighting and realized that they could not support it.

Muhammad Kabiya, from a village in the Jezreel Valley, was recruited for the war by the Northern Command. In recent days, he became a network star after he was interviewed by the BBC network in Arabic, and stated that the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 is against Islam.

According to Kabiya, no one in his village has a problem with the fact that he is interviewed by Arab media and condemns Hamas. "I am a member of a fighting family. All my brothers enlisted and we will fight this terrorist organization. I also receive support from Israeli Arabs - of course there are a few who attack, but the majority are in favor. This is happening because what Hamas did that Saturday was shocking, and shocked the whole world. Forget that they also murdered Arabs there and this goes against everything in Islam and every basic human standard," he said.

Israeli-Arab reservists are fighting fake news in Arabic

They served in the IDF in a variety of roles, and now they have been sent to help present the facts of the Hamas attack to the Arab world; 'Everyone was shocked by Hamas, which is against Islam'

www.ynetnews.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ Hamas alleges that 5000 people are dead in Gaza. Do not believe the numbers. How many are Hamas, and other terrorist groups, how many are human shields? Why can't Palestinian Americans, etc leave ? Are they being kept from leaving by Hamas? ]

But Hamas’s tactical success in its attack on Israel has become a public relations disaster for the terrorist group’s brand. Videos and pictures of the slaughter have belied Hamas’s once-preferred image as a moderate force fighting for justice. Though in the past, sympathy for Israel following Hamas attacks faded as soon as Israel retaliated, the scale and brutality of Hamas’s slaughter has changed the equation. For now, these gruesome images have held off Western pressure on Israel to cease its campaign to destroy Hamas.

In response, Hamas has launched a coordinated disinformation operation to do damage control for its battered reputation. A cyber research group found a coordinated campaign conducted by 67 online accounts spreading disinformation and inflammatory content favoring Hamas in its war against Israel. Hamas will use not only bots and trolls but also a network of social media influencers, and likely will integrate artificial intelligence into its information war strategies.

Hamas also sought to reclaim the narrative by downplaying the barbarity of its attacks. According to the BBC, some social media users claimed that footage of Hamas taking hostages was staged in order to smear the Palestinian cause. Some Hamas officials flatly denied that its fighters killed civilians, insisting that it only attacked soldiers, despite videos showing otherwise and captured Hamas documents proving it was their intent. Hamas also tried to soften its image by disseminating videos of its fighters releasing female and child hostages or comforting and holding Israeli children, though the images of militants holding Kalashnikovs and captured kids might have the opposite effect.

Hamas has also sought to spread disinformation by claiming it is treating foreign hostages with care. However, Hamas killed or captured people from nearly 30 countries in its attack. This included a foreign worker a Hamas fighter tried to decapitate with a farm tool.

Hamas needed a Palestinian civilian mass casualty event to reframe the narrative around alleged Israeli brutality, not theirs. Hamas fully comprehends that information is a weapon and will continue to batter Israel in the information space. With only a small investment in information operations, Hamas can pollute the information space with conflicting narratives by spreading disinformation and misinformation. Even though the hospital angle ultimately backfired, for 24 hours, the global media narrative revolved around whether Israel bombed a Palestinian hospital and not Hamas’s heinous Oct. 7 attack.

Videos and images of Hamas’s carnage — mangled corpses, murdered families, and bloody cribs — have harmed Hamas’s image. And Israel’s deft handling of Hamas’s hospital bombing account undermined the terrorist group’s credibility, helping Israel to stave off international pressure. Israel must continue to fight the battle for narratives so that it can continue fighting on the ground to eliminate Hamas.

(full article online)

The Hamas Disinformation Campaign Against Israel Is Also Brutal

Hamas launched a disinformation assault on Tuesday. Following a week of shock and outrage stemming from its Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis, the terrorist group backed by Iran needed to turn...

www.fdd.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

'I know one woman who has returned to Israel as she feels safer there despite the war. Life in Britain, with its deep-rooted freedoms, should not be like this,' writes Jewish PhD student Daniel Revach​

(full article online)

'I know a woman who has returned to Israel despite the war'.

DANIEL REVACH: When I saw the footage of 100,000 people streaming through London last weekend, I could sense undercurrents of anti-Semitic hatred.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Sixties Fan]

Deeds are preceded by words; words are assembled into ideologies; atrocious deeds are preceded by deadly ideologies. The ideology of Hamas – which was translated into reality in a horrible manner on October 7 2023 – is articulated in its Charter, a lengthy and detailed document authored by Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in 1988. In order to understand its relevance to the recent murder of 1,400 Israelis in their homes outside the borders of the Gaza Strip, it must be recognized that this Charter is a religious document, rooted in an Islamist interpretation of ancient traditions. The virulent hatred of Jews which emanates from this Charter is an old Islamic tradition that Hamas endorses verbatim, so from Hamas' point of view the killing of Jews is a religious edict.

Hence, the indiscriminate slaughter perpetrated on October 7by Hamas operatives in Israeli localities, along country roads and at a music festival where hundreds of young people were shot dead is rooted in Hamas' fanatic ideology. It is a concrete example of the application of the movement's Charter.

The Charter of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas is a religious, antisemitic document that calls for uncompromising war against Jews until Judgement Day and rejects ceding even an inch of the land of Palestine. It declares that the only valid way to liberate Palestine is to wage all-out jihad against Israel until victory is achieved. "When the enemy tramples Muslim territory, waging jihad and confronting the enemy become the personal duty of every individual Muslim," it says [our emphasis]. This concept of personal duty is used in Islamic sources only in the context of shari'a law.

Emphasizing that Hamas is "a jihadist, ethical movement,” the Charter declares that the jihad waged in Palestine is a continuation of the jihad launched in the early days of Islam, which will persist until the End of Days. The movement pledges to remain committed to this jihad until the words of the Prophet Muhammad come true: "The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,' except for the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews." This leads the reader to infer that Nature itself abhors the Jews and therefore helps the Muslims to annihilate them.

The Charter declares Palestine to be an Islamic waqf, a religious term which means that the land belongs to Allah alone and is "given as endowment for all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection," and therefore Muslims are religiously prohibited from relinquishing any part of it. International conferences and initiatives that seek a solution for the Palestinian problem, it adds, are "a waste of time" and "nothing but a way to give the infidels power of arbitration over Muslim land," which can only be liberated by means of jihad.

The following is a translation of the Hamas Charter, first published by MEMRI in 2006.

In the name of Allah the Merciful and the Compassionate

Palestine, Muharram 1, 1409 A.H./August 18, 1988

In the name of Allah the Merciful and the Compassionate

"You are the best nation that has been brought out for mankind. You command good and forbid evil and believe in Allah. If only the people of the Book [i.e., Jews and Christians] had believed, it would have been well for them. Some of them believe, but most of them are iniquitous. They will never be able to do you serious harm, they will only be an annoyance. If they fight you, they will turn their backs and flee, and will not be succored. Humiliation is their lot wherever they may be, except where they are saved from it by a bond with Allah or by a bond with men. They incurred upon themselves Allah's wrath, and wretchedness is their lot, because they denied Allah's signs and wrongfully killed the prophets, and because they disobeyed and transgressed." (Koran, 3:110-112).

"Israel will exist, and will continue to exist, until Islam abolishes it, as it abolished that which was before it." [From the words of] The martyr, Imam Hasan al-Banna', Allah's mercy be upon him.[2][1]

"The Islamic world is burning, and each and every one of us must pour water, even if it be a little, to extinguish whatever he can extinguish, without waiting for others." [From the words of] Sheikh Amjad Al-Zahawi, Allah's mercy be upon him.[3][2]

In the name of Allah the Merciful and the Compassionate

Preamble

Praise be to Allah. We seek help from Him, we ask forgiveness from Him, we ask Him for guidance, and we rely on Him. Prayer and peace be upon Allah's messenger and upon his family and companions, and those who are loyal to him and spread his message and follow his sunna [the Prophet's custom]. Prayer and peace be forever upon them as long as heaven and earth exist.

Oh people, from the midst of great troubles and in the depths of suffering, and from the beating of believing hearts and arms purified for worship, out of cognizance of duty and in response to Allah's command – thence came the call [of our movement] and the meeting and joining [of forces], and thence came education in accordance with Allah's way and a resolute will to carry out [the movement's] role in life, overcoming all of the obstacles and surmounting the difficulties of the journey. Thence came also continuous preparation, [along with] readiness to sacrifice one's life and all that is valuable for the sake of Allah.

Then the seed took form and [the movement] began to move forward through this stormy sea of wishes and hopes, yearnings and aspirations, dangers and obstacles, pains and challenges, both locally [in Palestine] and abroad.

When the idea ripened, and the seed grew, and the plant shot its roots into the ground of reality, away from fleeting emotions and improper hastiness, then the Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas][4][3] set out to play its role, marching onward for the sake of Allah. [In doing this, Hamas] joins arms with all those who wage jihad for the liberation of Palestine.[5][4] The souls of its jihad fighters meet the souls of all those jihad fighters who sacrificed their lives for the land of Palestine, from the time when the Prophet's companions conquered it until the present.

The charter of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) reveals its face, presents its identity, clarifies its stand, makes clear its aspiration, discusses its hopes, and calls out to help it and support it and to join its ranks, because our fight with the Jews is very extensive and very grave, and it requires all the sincere efforts. It is a step that must be followed by further steps; it is a brigade that must be reinforced by brigades upon brigades from this vast Islamic world, until the enemies are defeated and Allah's victory is revealed.

This is how we see them coming on the horizon: "And after a time you will come to know about it."(Koran, 38:88)

"Allah has written: It is I and My messengers who will surely prevail. Allah is Strong and Mighty." (Koran, 58:21)

"Say: This is my way. I call on Allah with certainty, I and those who follow me, and glory be to Allah, I am not among the polytheists." (Koran, 12:108)

Chapter One: Introduction to the Movement

Ideological Premises

Article One

The Islamic Resistance Movement: Islam is its way. It is from Islam that it derives its ideas, concepts, and perceptions concerning the universe, life, and man, and it refers to Islam's judgment in all its actions. It is from Islam that it seeks direction so as to guide its steps.

The Relation between the Islamic Resistance Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood

Article Two

The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. The Muslim Brotherhood movement is a global organization and is the largest of the Islamic movements in modern times. It is distinguished by its profound understanding and its conceptual precision and by the fact that it encompasses the totality of Islamic concepts in all aspects of life, in thought and in creed, in politics and in economics, in education and in social affairs, in judicial matters and in matters of government, in preaching and in teaching, in art and in communications, in secret and in the open, and in all other areas of life.

Structure and Formation

Article Three

The Islamic Resistance Movement is founded upon Muslims who gave their allegiance to Allah and served Him as He ought to be served. "I did not create jinns and men except that they should serve me." (Koran, 51:56)

[These Muslims] recognized their duty towards themselves, their families and their homeland, fearing Allah in all of this. They raised the banner of jihad in the face of the oppressors, in order to deliver the land and the believers from their filth, impurity and evil. "We hurl the truth against falsehood and crush its head, and lo, it vanishes." (Koran, 21:18)

Article Four

The Islamic Resistance Movement welcomes every Muslim who embraces its creed, adopts its ideology, is committed to its way, keeps its secrets and desires to join its ranks in order to carry out the duty, and his reward is with Allah.

The Islamic Resistance Movement – Dimensions of Time and Place

Article Five

The temporal dimension of the Islamic Resistance Movement – in view of the fact that it has adopted Islam as its way of life – go back to the birth of the Islamic message and to the righteous early believers; Allah is its goal, the Prophet is its example to be followed, and Koran is its constitution.

Its spatial dimension: wherever there are Muslims who embrace Islam as their way of life, everywhere upon the earth. Thus, [Hamas] sends its roots deep into the ground, and it extends to embrace the heavens.

"Do you not see how Allah has given us a parable? A good word is like a good tree; its roots are firm and its branches extend to the heavens. It always bears its fruit at the right time in accordance with God's will. Allah recites parables to men so that they will take heed." (Koran, 14:24-25)

Distinctiveness and Independence

Article Six

The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinct Palestinian movement that is loyal to Allah, adopts Islam as a way of life and works to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine. Under the wing of Islam, followers of other religions can all live safe and secure in their life, property and rights; whereas in the absence of Islam, discord arises, injustice spreads, corruption burgeons, and there are conflicts and wars. Allah bless the Muslim poet Muhammad Iqbal[6][5] who said:

When faith is gone, there is no safety,

And there is no life to him who has no religion.

He who is content to live without religion

Has taken death as a consort of life.

The Universality of the Islamic Resistance Movement

Article Seven

Muslims who adopt the way of the Islamic Resistance Movement are found in all countries of the world, and act to support [the movement], to adopt its positions and to reinforce its jihad. Therefore, it is a world movement, and it is qualified for this [role] owing to the clarity of its ideology, the loftiness of its purpose and the exaltedness of its goals. It is on this basis that it should be regarded and evaluated; it is on this basis that its role should be recognized. Whoever denies its rights, refrains from helping it, becomes blind [to the truth] and makes an effort to blot out its role – he is like one who attempts to dispute with [divine] predestination. Whoever closes his eyes to the facts, intentionally or unintentionally, will eventually wake up [to find that] events have overtaken him and that the [weight of the] evidence has rendered him unable to justify his position. Precedence shall be given to those who those who come first [to the movement]. The iniquity of one's own relatives is more painful to the soul than the blow of a sharp sword.[7][6]

"We have revealed to you the Book in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it and guarding it. Judge between them according to what Allah has revealed, and follow not their capricious will, turning away from the truth that was revealed to you. To each among you Allah has appointed a law and a way. If Allah had so desired, he would have made you a single nation. However, he desired to test you in all that he had given you. So vie with one another in good works. It is to Allah that you shall all return, and He will then reveal to you [the truth] about the matters in which you differed." (Koran 5:48)

The Islamic Resistance Movement is one link in the chain of jihad in confronting the Zionist invasion. It is connected and linked to the [courageous] uprising of the martyr 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam and his brethren the jihad fighters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the year 1936. It is further related and connected to another link, [namely] the jihad of the Palestinians, the efforts and jihad of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1948 war, and the jihad operations of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1968 and afterwards. Although these links are far apart, and although the continuity of jihad was interrupted by obstacles placed in the path of the jihad fighters by those who circle in the orbit of Zionism, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to realize the promise of Allah, no matter how long it takes. The Prophet, Allah's prayer and peace be upon him, says: "The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,' except for the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews." (Recorded in the Hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim).

The Motto of the Islamic Resistance Movement

Article Eight

Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model to be followed, the Koran its constitution, Jihad its way, and death for the sake of Allah its loftiest desire.

Chapter Two: Goals

Causes and Goals

Article Nine

The Islamic Resistance Movement has found itself in a period when Islam is absent from everyday life. Consequently, the balance has been disturbed, concepts have been confused, values have been altered, evil people have come into power, injustice and darkness have prevailed, the cowardly have become tigers, the homeland has been ravished, the people have been driven away and have been wandering in all the countries of the world. The rule of righteousness is absent, and the rule of falsehood prevails. Nothing is in its proper place. Thus, when Islam is absent, everything is transformed. These are the causes.

As for the goals, they are to fight falsehood, vanquish it and defeat it so that righteousness shall rule, the homeland shall return [to its rightful owner], and from the top of its mosques, the [Muslim] call for prayer will ring out announcing the rise of the rule of Islam, so that people and things shall all return to their proper place. From Allah we seek succor.

"If Allah did not ward off one group of people by means of another, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder. Allah is most kind to all beings." (Koran, 2:251)

Article Ten

The Islamic Resistance Movement – while marching forward – offers support to all who are persecuted and protects all who are oppressed with all its strength. It spares no effort in upholding the truth and eradicating falsehood, in word and in action, here and in every place within its reach and its influence.

Chapter Three: Strategy and Means

The Strategy of the Islamic Resistance Movement

Palestine Is an Islamic Waqf [i.e., an Islamic religious endowment]

Article Eleven

The Islamic Resistance Movement maintains that the land of Palestine is Waqf land given as endowment for all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. One should not neglect it or [even] a part of it, nor should one relinquish it or [even] a part of it. No Arab state, or [even] all of the Arab states [together], have [the right] to do this; no king or president has this right nor all the kings and presidents together; no organization, or all the organizations together – be they Palestinian or Arab – [have the right to do this] because Palestine is Islamic Waqf land given to all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection.

This is the legal status of the land of Palestine according to Islamic law. In this respect, it is like any other land that the Muslims have conquered by force, because the Muslims consecrated it at the time of the conquest as religious endowment for all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. This is how it was: when the conquest of Al-Sha'm[8][7] and Iraq was complete, the commanders of the Muslim armies sent messages to the Caliph 'Umar b. Al-Khattab, asking for instructions concerning the conquered land – should they divide it up among the troops or leave it in the hands of its owners or what?

After discussions and consultations between the Caliph 'Umar b. Al-Khattab and the Companions of the Prophet, they decided that the land should be left with its [original] owners to benefit from its crops, but the substance of the land, that is the land itself, should constitute Waqf for all the generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. The tenure of the owners is only tenure of usufruct. This Waqf will exist as long as the heaven and earth exist. Any measure which does not conform to this Islamic law regarding Palestine is null and void. "This surely is the very truth. Therefore, praise the great name of your Lord." (Koran, 56:95-96)

The Hamas Charter – The Ideology Behind The Massacre

Deeds are preceded by words; words are assembled into ideologies; atrocious deeds are preceded by deadly ideologies. The ideology of Hamas – which was translated into reality in a horrible manner on October 7 2023 – is articulated in its Charter, a lengthy and detailed document authored by Hamas...

www.memri.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

n his October 22, 2023 column in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, titled "A Message to Khaled Mash'al," Tariq Al-Homayed, former editor of the paper, criticized the Hamas leader abroad for "ask[ing] the 'Ummah' to 'play with fire' and march to the borders" from his safe haven in Doha and for citing the Quran and of the Prophet Muhammad in doing so. He went on to accuse Mash'al of fighting the Palestinians, not the Israelis.

Below is Al-Homayed's column, in the original English.[1]

"I Have Witnessed... Your Misleading And Inciting Discourse – Our Experiences Have Taught Us That These Lies Have Misled Youth Into The Abyss Of Terrorism And Extremism"

"To Mr. Khaled Meshaal, I will address you as Abu Al-Walid. In your interview with Al-Arabiya broadcaster, you touched on several issues, political, historical, and religious. Your rhetoric was neither coherent nor consistent, but like that of a messenger. I will not dwell on the political matters you discussed, as they are well established.

"Abu Al-Walid, I will focus on your religious rhetoric and your citations of the Holy Quran and the words of the Prophet – peace be upon him. I am not a preacher or a sheikh, but a father who fears that religion could be manipulated to misguide his children. I am worried that they might listen to you and believe that you are being truthful when you are not.

"I say this because I have witnessed the various stages of your misleading and inciting discourse. Our experiences have taught us that these lies have misled youth into the abyss of terrorism and extremism, becoming fodder for failed battles. This has happened from Afghanistan, which you take as a reference, to Palestine, whose cause you have tarnished.

"Abu Al-Walid, you speak about the Prophet striking with the spade in the Battle of the Trench, forgetting that he stood spade in hand on the battlefield, surrounded by his Companions; he was not living a comfortable life in another country like you are in Doha.

"You ask the 'Ummah' to 'play with fire' and march to the borders, while you are far away. Why don't you march to the borders of Gaza – even just to hand water out to those who have gone? Go and do it. If the Egyptian authorities prevent you; I promise to write an article condemning them for doing so.

"And you cite the verse: 'Permission has been granted to those being fought, for they have been wronged' – a Makkan-Medinan verse revealed to the Prophet in Medinah after he had spent 13 years in Makkah without calling for the use of force. The Prophet did not call for battle until after he had the support and strength of the Ansar (Supporters) in Medinah, and he did not recklessly send the Muslims to their demise. This verse was revealed in Medinah.

"We are taught that the Prophet refused, when asked for permission to do so, to allow the killing of those who had harmed the Muslims in Makkah before the Hijrah (migration). The Almighty revealed the following verse to address this question: God does not love any of the treacherous, ungrateful ones.

"When the family of Yasir was tortured, and Ammar witnessed the killing of his parents, the Prophet did not ask for revenge. Rather, he behaved like a great leader who sees the greater good. To prevent bloodshed, saying: 'Patience, O family of Yasir! Your meeting place will be Paradise.'

You "Did Not Fight The Israelis But The Palestinians Themselves – The First Thing You Did After The Gaza Elections Was To Throw Members Of Fatah And The Palestinian Authority Off The Rooftops"

"And you, Abu Al-Walid, did not fight the Israelis but the Palestinians themselves. The first thing you did after the Gaza elections was to throw members of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority off the rooftops; this is a documented fact.

"These are the facts, Abu Al-Walid. Nothing can be more dangerous and harmful than taking matters out of their context in moments of passion, especially since honest people sympathize with the innocent people of Gaza not with you or Hamas.

"Nothing is more dangerous than citing the Quran and the Prophet to mislead, especially through populist rhetoric that harms the reputation of Muslims and Islam, as Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden had done.

"I am not a sheikh but a father who worries for his children. I always teach them that the noble Prophet had set terms and ethics even for conflict. My advice, Abu Al-Walid, is thus that you focus on your adventures. Engage in them however you want, but do not throw the Quran, religion, and the Prophet into these discussions.

"In conclusion, Salam."

Senior Saudi Journalist Tariq Al-Homayed In Message To Khaled Mash'al, Hamas's Leader Abroad: 'You Ask The "Ummah" To "Play With Fire" And March To The Borders' – As You Live 'A Comfortable Life... In Doha'

In his October 22, 2023 column in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, titled "A Message to Khaled Mash'al," Tariq Al-Homayed, former editor of the paper, criticized the Hamas leader abroad for "ask[ing] the 'Ummah' to 'play with fire' and march to the borders" from his safe haven in...

www.memri.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

Jewish Musician Releases ‘Anthem’ Song About Being ‘Proud to Be Jewish’ Following Hamas Attacks in Israel - Algemeiner.com Jewish Musician Releases 'Anthem' Song About Being 'Proud to Be Jewish' Following Hamas Attacks in Israel

A Jewish singer-songwriter who recently wrote and released a song titled Ani Yehudi — which translates in English to "I Am a Jew"— told The Algemeiner on Monday that the track aims to express pride in being Jewish as it pays tribute to the innocent Israeli civilians massacred by Hamas terrorists...

www.algemeiner.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

WATCH: Palestinian Authority praises Hamas massacres as 'heroic' | World Israel News

Two senior members of Fatah, the ruling faction of the Palestinian Authority, hail the Hamas massacres in southern Israel, calling them 'heroic,' and 'a source of pride.'

worldisraelnews.com

 

[Ancient lion]

Attention:

 

[Sixties Fan]

Two weeks ago, pop star Madonna posted on her Instagram:

What is Happening in Israel is Devastating.. Watching all of these families and especially children being herded, assaulted and murdered in the streets is Heartbreaking.
Imagine if this was happening to you??
It’s Un-fathomable.
Conflicts can never be resolved with violence. Unfortunately Humanity does not understand this Universal truth. Has Never Understood it. We live in a World Ravaged by Hate.
My heart goes out to Israel. To Families and Homes that have been destroyed. To children who are lost.
To Innocent Victims who have Been Killed.
To All who are Suffering or who will suffer from this conflict.
Im Praying For you. I am aware that this is the work of Hamas and there are many innocent people in Palestine who do not support this terrorist organization. This Tragic attack will only cause more suffering for everyone
Let us all Pray. For Israel. For Peace. For The World.

Immediately, her IG was filled with anti-Israel invective, saying not only that she was not mentioning Palestinians but that she must be anti-Palestinian for posting something expressing sympathy for Israeli civilians who had been slaughtered..

After she also expressed sympathy for all victims at a concert in London, as well as the young Palestinian boy who was horrifically murdered in Chicago, Haaretz reports, "Her remarks set off an explosion on social media, with hateful comments expressing doubt about her skills as a mother and calling her 'Kabbalah bitch.' Since then, Madonna’s security detail has been upgraded."

This incident indicates that the most extreme form of Arab zero-sum mentality about Israel has infected the West. If people are sympathetic to Jews, the thinking goes, they must hate Palestinians. You have to choose a side and put all your energies into opposing the other side.

This is why so many anti-Israel demonstrations were organized and held within 24 hours of the news of Black Shabbat. Israel-haters believe that anyone expressing any humanity towards innocent Israeli civilians is the enemy and therefore it must be countered with a huge anti-Israel publicity campaign. To the zero-summers, there can only be one victim who can elicit sympathy; if people feel sorry for Jews then they are by definition anti-Palestinian.

This is mainstream Palestinian thinking, and before the Abraham Accords, it was mainstream Arab thinking as well. One of my favorite examples came from a Gulf News article by a UAE political science professor in 2006 that argued that - despite southern Lebanon having been decimated by war with Israel - it was a victory for Arabs:

Logically, when Israel is in a worse condition, which is the case now, Arabs are definitely better off.

Although Israel was not routed in the battle, it surely seems defeated and frustrated. It is also living in a state of doubt and comprehensive review of its military and political performance during the war.

The equation of victory and defeat between the Arabs and the Zionist state has always been and will remain zero equation.

This mentality permeates all levels of Palestinian society. Anything that is good for Israel - like the Abraham Accords ot the US Embassy in Jerusalem - is considered obviously bad for Palestinians, even if it does not affect Palestinians at all. The extreme anger at UNRWA plans to teach about the Holocaust in their schools is one obvious example of this quite sick mindset.

Most scholarly papers on zero-sum thinking look at the fallacy that it applies to economics - that if someone makes money, then others must be losing. The idea that all boasts can rise in a growing economy is not considered.

But the Palestinian mentality that there is a limited supply of world sympathy and feeling bad about dead Jews takes away from being pro-Palestinian has taken hold in the West. Palestinians must corner the market on victimhood and tears.

As the case of Madonna shows, the psychosis is so embedded even in the West that anyone who feels sorry for victims of a massacre becomes the enemy and must be attacked.

Similarly, the massacre itself is a victory because it hurt the enemy - "winning" trumps morality. Israel haters welcomes the massacre as schadenfreude even as they claimed that what Palestinians experience every day is worse.

If Western nations are adopting this backwards thinking, they are in danger of turning into third-world nations themselves.

Hating those who have sympathy for Jews: The most extreme Arab zero-sum thinking is now embedded in the West

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[gtopa1]

HI SF. As I said; your stuff on the ME is priceless. I'm busy watching some "squad" comments on Hamas. You have your work cut out for you in those Dem circles. Best of luck(sincerely).

Greg

 

[Sixties Fan]

What do you do when a cause you deeply cherish betrays you?

What do you do, for example, when you spend a lifetime fighting for the Palestinian cause, and then, overnight, they become associated with the butchering, beheading, raping and mutilating of 1400 people, including infants, babies, women, rave dancers, families and the elderly?

How do you spin that?

You might try to deny and downplay, but with all the graphic and gruesome videos out there, that’s not easy. And as much as you’d love to erase the word Palestinian next to the word Hamas, you know the connection is a fact.

No, the only real option is to make so much noise that you drown out the horrible news about the murder of Jews.

That’s why immediately after October 7, we saw global protests against Israel and in support of Palestinians. This was before Israel launched its counterattacks. And naturally, when Israel did go after Hamas, the attacks against Jews have only accelerated. On streets around the world and across college campuses, Jew haters are now out in full force. The slaughtering of 1400 Jews is all but forgotten. Now it’s all about Israel’s reaction to the massacres.

Whether it’s the media jumping to (falsely) blame Israel for the bombing of a Gaza hospital, or the global cries for a “ceasefire” before Israel has even entered Gaza to eliminate the terrorists, the world is doing all it can to downplay the narrative of “Palestinians as butchers.”

The world’s most popular victims, after all, cannot be allowed to be butchers.

For half a century, Palestinians have managed to charm the global elite with the seductive narrative of glorious, helpless victimhood. They became the forever oppressed.

Palestinian scholar-activist Edward Said’s 1978 book, “Orientalism,” by portraying the West’s view of the East as demeaning and ignorant, helped shape and solidify the Palestinian narrative. As Western culture became associated with colonialism, imperialism, oppression, racism and capitalist abuse, Palestinians became the Swiss army knife of causes for the virtue signaling set. Accurate or not, they had it all.

Amazingly, Palestinians have managed to hold on to their elite victim status despite decades of terror attacks against Israel. No matter how many Jews they killed, victimhood has defined them. You could have millions of genocide victims somewhere in Africa, or millions of oppressed slaves in China, or millions of refugees in Syria– it doesn’t matter: no group of victims has been able to dislodge the Palestinians from the top of the victim food chain.

Of course, the Palestinians have always had an ace in the hole: the Jews! As long as the oppressor was Jewish, Palestinians knew they would continue to have the world’s undivided attention. Have you noticed that we rarely hear about those other Palestinian refugees who live in much worse conditions in Jordan and Lebanon? Why should we? There are no Jews involved.

The world’s oldest hatred, in short, has fueled the remarkable run of the world’s most coddled victims.

October 7 introduced 1400 complications.

Suddenly, for one long gruesome day, Jews were the oppressed and Palestinians the oppressors. Palestinian lovers saw something they had never seen before: a mass murder of Jews by Palestinians. This was no garden variety Palestinian attack where a few Jews get killed, or Hamas rockets neutralized by Iron Dome and bomb shelters. This was 1400 Jews massacred by Palestinians in the most barbaric way possible. This was evil in concentrated form.

Put it this way: In Israel, when one Jew dies from a terror attack, the whole nation mourns that one life.

Now go to October 7 and do the math.

October 7 has become the biggest wake-up call in modern Jewish history because the level of the horror reached unbearable proportions. It’s the worse of the worse of the worse. It’s impossible to find words in the English dictionary that would go too far to describe the horrors.

That’s why I’ve seen Jews from the left who usually instinctively take the Palestinian side go eerily quiet. They’re numb. They’re dizzy. They’re disgusted. Jews everywhere are still shaking. As a friend says, it’s primordial rage.

Fox News war correspondent Trey Yingst was so repulsed by a video of the bloodbath he couldn’t share details with the audience.

The furious backlash against university presidents, Hollywood celebrities, politicians and others, including Jews, who have failed to unequivocally condemn the atrocities of October 7, or even worse, joined the anti-Israel protests, is precisely because of the unspeakable level of the atrocities.

October 7 was so horrific that it threatened to ambush the Palestinian cause. These activists are not stupid. They’ve seen the videos. They saw the danger that their cherished cause could be forever contaminated. So what did they do to save it? They did what people have done for centuries, because it always works: They went after the Jews.

The World is Freaking Out Because Its Favorite Victims Suddenly Became Human Butchers

October 7 was so horrific that it threatened to ambush the Palestinian cause. So what did they do to save it? They did what people have done for centuries, because it always works: They went after the Jews.

jewishjournal.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

A week after evidence proved that Israel did not bomb a hospital in Gaza, PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Shtayyeh still repeats the libel.



A failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad terrorists fell short of Israel and hit the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 17, 2023, during Hamas’ terror war on Israel.



The PA and Hamas rushed to libel Israel as being responsible for the bombing and claimed approximately 500 people had been killed. Global media outlets including Reuters and the BBC hurried to publish the Palestinian libel without confirming it.


But Israel soon proved with video evidence, including from Al-Jazeera TV, that it was an errant Islamic Jihad rocket that fell on the hospital during a barrage of rocket fire. Israel further published a recording of a phone conversation between two Hamas terrorists intercepted by Israel on Oct. 17, 2023, in which the terrorists discussed how an Islamic Jihad rocket caused the damage to the hospital and that shrapnel at the site of the bombing was "shrapnel from locally produced rockets" and not Israeli.



Having seen the Israeli evidence, the US confirmed the Israeli assessment that an Islamic Jihad rocket had caused the damage. A senior European intelligence source estimated that the true death count from the bombing was no more than 50 people.

But all this doesn’t matter to the Palestinian Authority. Almost a week after the bombing, when all the evidence had already been published and accepted by international heads of state, politicians, and media, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh still had the nerve to blame Israel for the bombing:

“[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh wondered: … Where is there a culture that bombs a hospital and demands to evacuate other hospitals?”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, Oct. 23, 2023]​

Shtayyeh’s comment echoes the PA narrative from the day after the hospital bombing. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, ignored the evidence by labelling Israel and the US liars, claiming that the US was “behind” the bombing and that Israel carried it out:

Al-Hadath TV interviewer: “Let’s start with the Israeli version that it is attempting to disseminate, that the bombing [of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City] came from the Palestinian factions, despite the denial of the factions… Today there is even an American confirmation of the Israeli version’s veracity. What is your response?”

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “This is not new regarding Israel and even not regarding the Americans. They are used to lies, falsehoods, and falsifications… Everyone saw the Israeli missile or the Israeli bombing hitting the hospital in a live broadcast… We have no doubt that Israel is responsible, and that the one who is behind it – the US – is a partner in this responsibility… The US is the one that is sponsoring all the Israeli crimes, and that it is the one that is defending all the Israeli crimes – not only today, during this aggression (refers to Hamas’ terror war on Israel -Ed.), but rather throughout all of history.”

[Al-Hadath TV (Saudi Arabia), Oct. 18, 2023]​

Likewise, the official PA news agency WAFA quickly alleged that Israel “intentionally harmed civilians” and “targeted” the hospital:

“The Israeli occupation intentionally harmed civilians [in the Gaza Strip] when they left their homes… At the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, hundreds of families uprooted from Gaza City gathered thinking it was a ‘safe’ place, but the occupation’s jets targeted the hospitals, and they committed a massacre that caused the deaths of approximately 500 civilians as Martyrs and the wounding of hundreds, according to medical sources (sic.).”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, Oct. 18, 2023]​

The agency further distorted Israel’s warning calls to Gazan refugees to evacuate the combat zone as “threats”:

“Dozens of Gazan families left their homes in the neighborhoods surrounding the historical hospital and fled to it due to threats they received on their cell phones from the occupation army, which asked them to leave their homes and evacuate to ‘safe zones.’A short while after they found shelter at the hospital, Israeli missiles suddenly hit the families and turned them into scattered body parts.”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, Oct. 18, 2023]​

Palestinian Media Watch has exposed that Hamas and even the PA Prime Minister have urged Gaza residents not to heed the Israeli warnings but to stay in their homes, thereby acting as human shields for the terrorists.


The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:

(full article online)

Ignoring evidence, PA repeats libel that Israel bombed Gazan hospital | PMW Analysis

PA repeats libel that Israel bombed Gazan hospital

palwatch.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

• Hamas says the conflict with Israel is an existential conflict, both against Israel as a state and against all Jews
  
• The PA shares this belief: PA Ministry of Religious Affairs instructed all preachers in all mosques to cite the Hadith that calls for genocide of all Jews
  
• The PA supports Hamas’ terror invasion of Israel and has called on West Bank Palestinians to join the terror
  
• The tragedy is that the world has always seen the PA as “a peace partner” and funded them. The PA has used that money to educate a generation of Palestinians to believe that they have the obligation to destroy Israel, and the obligation to kill Jews
  
• Hamas’ power today is a result, not of Hamas education, but of PA education

(vide video online)

PMW Director Itamar Marcus interviewed about the PAâs response to Hamasâ atrocities, on Jerusalem Dateline | PMW Analysis

Like Hamas, the Palestinian Authority Also Wants to Eradicate Israel

palwatch.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

During a DSA rally, a participant holds up a sign calling Hamas a “resistance movement” justified under international law.

First, Hamas is not a resistance movement. It is a terrorist organization.

Second, there is no “resistance” exception to the rule against murdering and maiming civilians, butchering and burning babies, raping women, mutilating bodies, abducting hostages…All of these atrocities, committed by Hamas, are war crimes under international law.

Beware of anyone who whitewashes the war crimes of Hamas while weaponizing international law against Israel.

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]