Hamas War Crimes Against Israel, Palestinians

The Fellowship  |  March 18, 2019

As usual, Israel has been accused by the United Nations and others of “war crimes,” with her only “crime” being that of protecting her borders from terrorists intent on killing Israelis. Alas, writes Gatestone Institute’s Bassam Tawil, Hamas should be the one charged with such crimes, but the world allows the terror group to literally get away with murder:

Hamas has again proved that it really is a terrorist group that oppresses its people and prevents them from expressing their opinions. It has also shown that when it is in trouble, it will do its utmost to divert attention from the problems it is facing at home.

As far as Hamas is concerned, one of the best ways to divert attention from the growing frustration with its rule is by attacking Israel and Jews. Then, Israel is forced to respond to defend itself. That will allow Hamas to tell its people that there is no room for internal fighting and disputes “because we are under attack by the Jews.” No Palestinian would dare to criticize Hamas while Israel is supposedly “attacking” Hamas. Anyone who did so would be accused of being a “traitor” and “collaborator” with the “Zionist enemy.”

That is exactly what happened this week, when two rockets were fired at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The rocket attack came shortly after thousands of Palestinians had taken to the streets of the Gaza Strip to protest the horrific economic situation there — that funds intended for them had apparently been diverted to finance terrorism — and demand an end to Hamas’s repressive measures against its people.

The leaders of Hamas were apparently disturbed by the large protests that took place in the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders also seemed disturbed by the photos and videos showing Hamas members beating, shooting at and arresting hundreds of peaceful Palestinian protesters whose only “crime” was to demand a dignified life, jobs and a better future for their children.

Hamas leaders would probably love to see Israel retaliate in the Gaza Strip for rockets launched at Tel Aviv: such a move by Israel would silence the growing anger among Palestinians towards the Hamas terrorist organization that has been ruling them since the summer of 2007.

The rockets that were fired at Tel Aviv, and the ensuing Israeli military strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip, have indeed eclipsed the news about the clashes between Hamas and Palestinian protesters. Suddenly, everyone was talking only about the rocket attacks on Tel Aviv, and Hamas seemed to have gotten away with its beating and shooting at peaceful protesters…