Hamas’ Oct. 7 heinous attack on Israel unleashed a devastating war, plunging Gaza into a catastrophic crisis. The war has returned the global conversation over Israel and Palestine to the fore, with ongoing public outcry and diplomatic discourse in the Western world seeking to force the implementation of a two-state solution.
Western discourse consistently overlooks several critical truths about Hamas, one of the two major Palestinian political powers. Hamas openly endorses a genocidal agenda, as explicitly stated in its official charter, demonstrated at its September 2021 meeting titled “The End of Days,” and manifested in the violence of the Oct. 7 attack. Yet Western circles fail to hold Hamas accountable for its actions. Equally ignored is the fact that many Arab nations do hold Hamas responsible for its actions.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Hamas' main rival, Fatah, stated, “Hamas is responsible for the greatest catastrophe of the Palestinians since 1948.” That sentiment is widely echoed throughout the Arab world.
Arab criticism of Hamas focuses on:
Absolving Palestinians and their leadership from accountability plays into the hands of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Iranian regime, all of which seek to perpetuate and escalate the conflict to foment further........