We have been instructed that there is, on the one hand, the terror group Hamas, which we are allowed to hate, and to hope that the IDF destroys the group root and branch, and on the other hand, there are the Palestinians, both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria (a/k/a the West Bank), who do not belong to Hamas and therefore are to be regarded as “innocent civilians” who have done nothing wrong and whose lives must be preserved at all costs. Alas, all too many of those “innocent civilians” turn out to have views that suggest they are not quite so innocent, but rather, admirers of Hamas and enthusiasts for what it accomplished on October 7, when 3,000 of its operatives rampaged through kibbutzim. That morning, those Hamas “fighters” beheaded babies, burned children alive, gang-raped, tortured, and murdered girls, sliced the breasts off women, gouged out the eyes of men, both before and after death, slit open the stomach of a pregnant woman, and pulled the fetus out to kill it before killing the mother, murdered children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children. When, knowing all that, you nonetheless declare your support of Hamas, you are no longer an “innocent civilian,” but a moral monster who does not deserve any sympathy. You are akin to those German villagers who lived near the extermination camps, knew what was going on, and while they did no killing themselves, approved of it all. More on what these “innocent Palestinian civilians” think of those Hamas atrocities can be found here: “Palestinians Largely Support Oct. 7 Massacre, Deny Hamas Guilty of War Crimes: Poll,” by Troy O. Fritzhand, Algemeiner, December 14, 2023:
The vast majority of Palestinians support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre and do not think the terror group has committed war crimes during its ongoing war with the Jewish state, according to a new poll.
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found in its latest public opinion poll of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank that a striking 72 percent of respondents said Hamas made a “correct” decision to launch its onslaught against Israel.
During the invasion, Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 240 others as hostages, taking them back to Gaza. Hamas’ brutality during the pogrom — which included documented cases of rampant rape and other sexual violence, torture, and beheadings — shocked the world.
Despite the gruesome violence, however, only 10 percent of Palestinians think that Hamas has committed war crimes during the current war, according to the poll. When asked if the terror group, which rules Gaza, was guilty of atrocities “such as the killing of women and children in their homes,” just 16 percent of respondents in Gaza and 1 percent in the West Bank said yes.
Just think: only 1% of Palestinians in the West Bank think that Hamas’ murders of women and children in their homes constituted a “war crime.” Curiously, in the Strip itself 16% of the residents were willing to describe those murders as a “war crime” — no doubt because of their own anger at Hamas for its corruption, mismanagement and, especially, for bringing down the wrath of the IDF on Gaza.
Since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7, US President Joe Biden and other international partners have been pushing for the renewal of peace talks, with the goal of taking steps toward a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Part of this plan, as Biden administration officials have indicated, would see a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority, which currently governs the West Bank, also take charge in Gaza.
However, 64 percent of Palestinians oppose the PA being a party to any peace talks to determine the future of Gaza, and only 7 percent back a PA led by current President Mahmoud Abbas taking charge of the Palestinian enclave. Even without Abbas in charge, only 16 percent of respondents said they want a PA government taking power.
So how do the Bidenites propose to impose a PA regime on Gaza when two-thirds of Palestinians do not want the PA involved at all in peace talks about Gaza, and only 7% want Mahmoud Abbas, who refuses to leave office, to continue to lead the PA?
Conversely — and despite Israeli, American, and European statements that Hamas will have no part in post-war Gaza governance — 60 percent of Palestinians are in favor of the terror group retaining power, the poll found. Specifically, 75 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank expressed support for Hamas retaining control, compared to only 38% in Gaza.
The Gazans are much less favorably inclined toward Hamas than are the Palestinians in the West Bank. After all, they’ve been ruled by Hamas since 2007, when the terror group seized power in the Strip, and suffered from its colossal corruption, mismanagement, misallocation of resources (with billions of dollars poured into the underground tunnel network, now being destroyed). In the West Bank, the people have known, and increasingly suffered under, Mahmoud Abbas’s despotic and corrupt rule; in response, they think more highly of the PA’s mortal enemy, Hamas, precisely because of that enmity.
Kalit says
If innocent civilians pose an existential challenge, directly or indirectly, to your very own survival their particular fate becomes irrelevant.
libertyORdeath says
I’ve been trying to tell everyone…
https://open.substack.com/pub/johnfromjamestowne/p/the-israel-war-is-a-lie?r=288rw5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true
mike says
when the Palestinians voted in Hamas and Hamas was using schools and hospitals as places to launch rockets and base camps. The Palestinians said nothing to stop it. Sorry then you have to break lots of eggs
Hamas did not consider who the rockets they launched land on
Davidka says
Note that the civilians in Gaza not only strongly supported the outrages on October 7, but many civilians also invaded Israel to engage in murder, rape, torture and pillage, and some were as young as teens and pre-teens. (They published video of their own atrocities.) In addition, the IDF has found that many “civilians” stored weapons and ammunition in their homes, making themselves either the equivalent of Hamas members, or aiding and abetting Hamas. Either way, they lost any protection under the laws of war for “civilian” status.
beeaware says
Palestinians as far as I’m concerned are devout orthodox Muslims, who brainwash their children at an early age, to give up reason and morality to Allah and Allah’s Messengers. All orthodox Muslims are potential jihad Muslims as both follow the Quran closely. Therefore, no difference between an orthodox Muslim and a jihadi Muslim, one supports the other. I think of Muslims in America, who attend mosques on a scheduled daily basis as devout orthodox Muslims, all of whom are potential jihad Muslims.
James Lincoln says
Palestinians, generally speaking, aid and support kinetic jihad carried out by Hamas.
After all, the “Palestinians” voted in Hamas in 2006.