Hamas's Apologists and the Assault on Reason

Key Findings:

This essay highlights some contradictions arising so far in the narrative around the Israel-Hamas war. 

Hamas's true nature is often completely misunderstood. The terror organization has a firm commitment to a holy war against Jews in its desire to claim the entire territory of Israel. Hamas is not seeking a two-state solution. Since the 1936 Peel Commission, the Jews have accepted any number of plans to divide up the territory. The Arabs have rejected every single one. This is why Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, has a T-shirt that shows the entire State of Israel as Palestine. 

Nor does Hamas’s claim to all the land west of the Jordan River simply involve expelling the Jews, which would anyway be a larger ethnic cleansing than any they claim is now taking place against them. The Jews are to be killed. That’s in Hamas’s original Covenant, too, which famously includes this Hadith, or saying of Muhammad: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.’

The author questions the promotion of a "Free Palestine" by giving a free hand to Hamas, an organization that refuses to establish a democratic polity, denies equal rights to women, and holds extreme views towards LGBTQ+ individuals. Israel's tight control of Gaza is a response to these threats, and when that control lapses, Hamas engages in acts of violence and terror.

Other contradictions that the author points to include: (1) That Palestinians that wish to end Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but refer to Israeli cities like Nahal Oz and Sderot as "Israeli settlements," despite being within Israeli territory; (2) The accusation that Israel is committing war crimes whilst simultaneously being urged not to commit them; (3) The argument that Gaza is occupied whilst simultaneously being under siege; (4) The concept of "pinkwashing," which dismisses Israel's uniquely progressive stance on LGBTQ+ rights in the Middle East.

The surprise that Israel experienced on October 7th is attributed to internal discord within the country over the judicial reforms, and distractions created by anti-Israel activists.