RUTHFULLY YOURS

If you think that the Palestinian Authority (PA) or any Arab state would agree to take control of the Gaza Strip as long as the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas has not been totally destroyed and removed from power, you would be wrong.

Removing the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, however, unfortunately cannot be achieved as long as the Biden administration and Western countries keep exerting pressure on Israel to halt the war, which erupted after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that resulted in the murder of 1,200 Israelis and the abduction of more than 240 others as hostages.

The Palestinian Authority and other Arab governments have been reminded in recent days of the reasons why entering the Gaza Strip after the war would be risky, if not impossible, unless Hamas’s military capabilities are first destroyed and the terrorist group is completely ousted from power.

According to reports from the Gaza Strip, Hamas has murdered a number of Palestinians who it believed had indicated willingness to be part of a new government that would replace the terrorist group after the war.

The most recent victim of Hamas’s measures to prevent the emergence of new leaders in the Gaza Strip is a prominent member of the Abu Amra clan. Earlier this week, Hamas terrorists shot and killed him in the Al-Zawaida neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip. The man was reportedly accused of expressing readiness to “collaborate” with Israel and other countries in distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Abu Amra clan retaliated by killing two Hamas terrorists. The feud between the Abu Amra clan and Hamas included shooting, and burning property, houses and cars.

Because Hamas and the PA have reportedly been stealing most of the food and medicine for their own members, it opposes other Palestinians getting engaged in the humanitarian aid distribution process. Several Palestinians, as well as aid workers, who nevertheless defied Hamas and took part in the distribution of food and medicine in the Gaza Strip were murdered or wounded by the group’s terrorists.

Hamas, apparently, does not want food or medication to reach the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, particularly not via Israeli border crossings. This situation is most likely caused by Hamas’s desire to prolong and aggravate the suffering of the Palestinians and create a “famine” so it can place the blame on Israel. This plan, in fact, seems to be why Hamas terrorists have been firing rockets at the Kerem Shalom border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

The assassination of the Abu Amra clan member and the theft of humanitarian aid are only a few of the Hamas atrocities that are often “overlooked” by the mainstream media and those in the West who describe themselves as “pro-Palestinian.”

Additionally, there is almost no discussion in the media or among “pro-Palestinian” individuals and groups of Hamas’s use of Palestinians as human shields in its Jihad (holy war) against Israel. Since the beginning of the war, Hamas terrorists have been firing at Israeli troops from Palestinians’ rooftops, bedrooms, kitchens, backyards, balconies, schools, hospitals, kindergartens and even the displaced families’ tent camps.

“Why is the media ignoring what is going on in central and southern Gaza?” asked Hamza Howidy, a Palestinian social media influencer from the Gaza Strip. “Hamas is assassinating Gazans, particularly tribe leaders, in order to deter anyone other than Hamas from delivering humanitarian relief and participating in Gaza.”

Howidy’s question has an easy answer: When Israel is not involved, the media turns a blind eye. Foreign journalists apparently do not care when Hamas drags Palestinians into the streets and executes them in cold blood. These journalists, it appears, do not think it is worth covering such stories because Israel is not at fault.

The most recent murder of the clan member was not the first incident of its kind. Earlier this year, Hamas terrorists beheaded the leader of the powerful Doghmush clan in the northern Gaza Strip after reports claimed that he had expressed a desire to get his family to oversee the distinction of aid to the Palestinians.

Hamas has also murdered, wounded and arrested PA security officers from the West Bank who allegedly tried to enter the Gaza Strip under cover of securing aid trucks. A senior Hamas official said that the officers belonged to the PA’s General Intelligence Service, headed by Major General Majed Faraj.

Another recent Hamas crime that has gone virtually unnoticed by the international media: Hamas terrorists fired a projectile at a UNICEF humanitarian aid convoy. The aid convoy was coordinated with Israeli authorities to reunite children from the northern Gaza Strip with their families in the south. “During the coordinated activity, the Hamas terrorist organization fired a projectile at the humanitarian route near the UNICEF aid convoy and [Israeli] soldiers securing the area,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. “There were no injuries to international aid workers or IDF soldiers in the attack.”

“[The attack on the] UN aid workers and the assassination of the Abu Amra tribe leader by members of Al-Qassam [Hamas’s armed wing] demonstrate that Hamas is determined to destroy the humanitarian situation in Gaza and is willing to sacrifice thousands of lives in order to pressure Israel to end the war so they can survive,” remarked Howidy.

Until the international community – and particularly the Biden administration – fully support Israel’s efforts to destroy Hamas, unfortunately there can be no real discussion of “the day after” in the Gaza Strip.

Israel, however, will not be the only party to benefit from Hamas’s demise. A large number of Arabs and Muslims who oppose Hamas and other Iran-backed Islamist groups will also benefit, even though it is “politically incorrect” and immensely dangerous to say so.

In reality, those advocating for a “ceasefire” are asking for Hamas to be allowed to continue ruling the Gaza Strip, rearming, and gearing up to attack Israel — in their words, “again and again.”

A ceasefire will only ignite an immediate increase in terrorist attacks against Israel. Worse, Islamists worldwide will be incentivized to launch attacks not only against Israel but also against Europe (see here, here and here). Islamists have already attacked US troops in the Middle East more than 150 times in the region since Oct 7.

By exposing the crimes of Hamas against its own people and raising awareness of these threats — instead of helping the terrorists cover them up — the international media can actually help to protect their own countries against steadily increasing terrorism. At the moment, terrorists over the world can only see their efforts as victorious, glorified and rewarded.

Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. The work of Bassam Tawil is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.