Media review: Why did Hamas attack?

Media review: Why did Hamas attack?

    Monday, January 22, 2024   No comments

Aljazeera and other regional and global media outlets reported that Hamas released an official document a answering the question about its motivation behind the events of October 7. 

The document tilted, “This is our narrative... Why the Al-Aqsa Flood?”, explaining the motives and outcomes of its "Operation al-Aqsa Flood".

In a 16-page report published on Sunday, Hamas, said it wanted to “clarify” the background and dynamics of the surprise attack it calls Operation al-Aqsa Flood. In the document Hamas admits admits to ‘some faults’ but said the attack was a ‘necessary step’  

Hamas explained in the memorandum that the events of October 7, 2023 must be placed in their broader context, urging the recalling of instances of liberation struggle in the world in contemporary history.

 Hamas affirmed that it's a movement for a national liberation struggle with legitimate goals, and that it “derives its legitimacy in resisting the occupation from the right of its people to defend themselves.” The movement stressed that “resisting the occupation by all means, including armed resistance, is a legitimate right guaranteed by laws and religions and approved by international laws.”

Hamas explained that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” was a necessary step and a natural response to confront the hatched plans aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause, just as it was to confront “Israel’s” plans on the land, Judaize it, and resolve sovereignty over al-Aqsa Mosque.

 Hamas added that the "Al-Aqsa Flood" was necessary in order to end the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, and a natural step towards achieving independence and freedom like other peoples of the free world, and the right to self-determination, in addition to establishing the independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital.

  “al-Aqsa flood” also came as a natural step within the framework of getting rid of the Israeli occupation, which practically “destroyed the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state through the fierce campaign to double settlement and Judaization in the West Bank,” Hamas explained.

 The battle with the occupation is more than a century old

In the memorandum, Hamas Movement (as it is called in the region) returned to the history of occupied Palestine, stating that the battle of the Palestinian people with the occupation did not begin on October 7, the day the “al-Aqsa Flood” began, but rather “105 years before that.”

 In this context, the Movement pointed out that the Palestinian people lived 30 years under British colonialism, and 75 years of Israeli occupation, while the Gaza Strip suffered a stifling siege for more than 17 years, turning into the largest open prison in the world, and five devastating wars, with Israel killing a disproportionate number of civilian Palestinians in each of them.

While Hamas affirmed that the Palestinian people have suffered for decades from all forms of oppression, injustice, confiscation of basic rights, and apartheid policies, it pointed out that from 2000 until September 2023, the occupation killed 11,299 Palestinians and wounded 156,768 others, the majority of whom were civilians.

 In the face of all this, Hamas asked: “Were our people required to continue waiting and betting on the United Nations and its helpless institutions?”

The October 7 attack targeted Israeli military sites

Regarding Hamas’ goals on October 7, the Movement confirmed that “al-Aqsa Flood” targeted Israeli military sites and sought to capture the occupation soldiers and fighters, in order to release the Palestinian prisoners.

 Hamas stressed that the attack focused on the Israeli military division of Gaza and Israeli sites in the “Gaza envelope” settlements, where “targeting civilians was avoided, especially women, children, and the elderly,” as this was considered a “religious and moral obligation upon which the sons of Hamas are raised.”

Hamas also affirmed that its “resistance is disciplined by the controls and instructions of our true Islamic religion, and its military wing targets the occupation soldiers and those who carry weapons against our people,” pointing out that “we dealt positively with the issue of civilians who were captured in the Gaza Strip, and we sought from day one to release them as quickly as possible.”

In this regard, the Movement stressed that what the occupation is promoting about “al-Qassam” targeting Israeli civilians in the October 7 attack “is pure slander and a lie,” as its fighters did not target “civilians,” but many of them were “killed by the Israeli police and army forces because of their confusion.”

 It was also the Israeli raids that “caused the killing of a large number of Israelis who were captured on October 7,” according to what Hamas continued, while numbers of armed settlers clashed with members of the resistance factions on October 7, and “those of them who were killed were recorded by the occupation as civilians.”

 While the occupation deliberately promoted lies that “the Qassam Brigades beheaded 40 infants,” Hamas pointed out that “this claim has been proven with certainty to be false, and the Israeli sources admit it.” The claim that “resistance fighters raped Israeli women has also been proven false,” which is what “Hamas categorically denied it.”

 As for the Gaza Strip, where Israelis were also killed by “their army” fire, the bombing and destruction operations demonstrated the occupation’s indifference to the lives of its prisoners, and its willingness to sacrifice them,” the Movement added in the memorandum.

 Hamas added that “fair investigations will confirm our story and the lies of the occupation’s allegations.”

 In addition to the above, Hamas called on “major countries, especially the United States, Germany, Canada, and Britain, to declare their support for the investigation into crimes committed in Palestine,” and the International Criminal Court to “come urgently and immediately to occupied Palestine, in order to investigate crimes and violations.”

 

The Movement continued by affirming that the peoples of the region and the world “are aware of the extent of the lies and deceit of the governments supporting the aggression, and their endeavor to search for justifications in order to justify their bias towards the occupation,” while noting that these countries “do not want to acknowledge that the root of the problem and the origin of the crisis is the existence of the occupation and its confiscation of the rights of our people to live freely.”

Hamas called for "legally punishing the Israeli occupation for its occupation, and all the suffering, victims and losses that resulted from it," and "supporting the resistance against the Israeli occupation by all available means, as it is a legitimate right."

 Hamas addressed the countries of the free world, especially the countries of the Global South, calling on them to “take a serious stance against the double standards of the forces supporting the occupation,” stressing that the major powers must “stop providing cover for the Zionist entity.”

 Hamas also called for an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, an end to the crimes and genocide committed by the occupation, an end to the siege, and a serious effort to force the occupation to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

 Hamas also urged "to stand against attempts to displace Palestinians inside, and to prevent a new catastrophe upon them, so there is no displacement of Palestinians, forcing them to move into Sinai, Jordan, or any place."

 It also called for the rejection of any international and Israeli projects “that seek to determine the future of the Gaza Strip, in a way that is consistent with the standards of the occupation and ensures its continuation,” stressing that the Palestinian people have the ability and competence to decide their future for themselves and arrange their internal home with their decision, and no one may impose guardianship over them.

Media review: An Israeli investigation suggests Israeli military helicopters may have been responsible for killing some Israelis

Media review: An Israeli investigation suggests Israeli military helicopters may have been responsible for killing some Israelis

    Sunday, November 19, 2023   No comments

 Israeli media indicated, in a new report, that the occupation's security establishment's assessment showed that Hamas had no prior knowledge of the Nova Festival in Kibbutz Ra'im, and learned about it from the air after the flight of its marches and gliders.

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported that the Israeli police investigation into the incident concluded that Hamas planned to reach Kibbutz Ra'im and other kibbutzim in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, but it discovered the dance party at Kibbutz Ra'im during the raid itself.

The newspaper explained that the security assessment also shows that the military helicopter belonging to the Israeli occupation army arrived at the scene of the incident coming from the Ramat David base, and opened fire on the Palestinian resistance fighters, and it appears that it also injured a number of revelers who were there.

According to the police, approximately 364 people were killed at the festival, which was scheduled to be held on Thursday, Friday, and Tuesday evening of the same week, but the occupation army agreed to the organizers of the event to hold it on Saturday as well.

According to the assessment, this last-minute change reinforces estimates that Hamas was not aware of the incident. A senior police officer says they estimate "about 4,400 people were present at the event, the vast majority of whom managed to escape after the decision to disperse the party, which was taken four minutes after the rockets were fired."

The police analysis shows that the participants in the party were able to escape because it was decided to stop it half an hour before gunshots were heard, which is the period that separated between the start of the massive missile attack and the arrival of the resistance fighters to the cover kibbutzim.

The "Electronic Intifada" website reported that "an Israeli woman witnessed the Al-Aqsa Flood operation," and confirmed that Israelis were undoubtedly killed "at the hands of its security forces."

She stated in her speech that this happened "when Israeli forces clashed in violent gun battles with Palestinian fighters in Kibbutz Be'eri, and opened fire randomly on Israeli fighters and prisoners."

The settlement added, in an interview with Israeli Radio: “They eliminated everyone, including their Israeli prisoners,” adding that “there was a very intense exchange of fire” and there was even tank shelling.

Israeli military pilot Nof Erez said that it is possible that Israeli forces implemented the “Hannibal Protocol” during their response to the attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7th.

Hannibal, a controversial military protocol attributed to the use of the Israeli army since its official adoption in 2006, allows the lives of captured soldiers to be risked, and it returned to the forefront again after Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip captured dozens of Israeli soldiers, including high-ranking military personnel, in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 last. .

In a statement to the Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday, the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Nof Erez, indicated the possibility of the Israeli army that intervened to deal with the Hamas attack implementing the Hannibal Protocol, which the occupation army uses to prevent the capture of its soldiers, even if it leads to their killing.

Erez said, "It is not known whether the warplanes and drones opened fire on the hostages when they responded to the attack launched by Hamas."

He added, "It appears that the Hannibal Protocol was implemented at some point on that day, because when a hostage situation was discovered, this required Hannibal, knowing that the Hannibal maneuvers that we conducted over the past 20 years were limited to one vehicle carrying hostages. As for what we saw in the 'Flood' Al-Aqsa is considered a large-scale Hannibal.