Tag Archive for: Ismail Haniyeh

Hamas kingpin Haniyeh’s demise and the symphony of international reactions

As the dust settles from the deceased top leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, the world’s political stage has transformed into a theatre of varied reactions that a master of satire might well script.

From fiery condemnation to ice-cold neutrality and occasional cheer, it’s as if the global community was playing an intricate game of diplomatic charades, each actor vying for the best performance.

The Islamic Republic (IR), Middle Eastern indignation’s grand maestro, has outdone itself this time. In a performance that could give Shakespeare’s tragedies a run for their money, Tehran has vowed revenge with a dramatic flair that’s practically Shakespearean in its intensity. One can almost hear the thunderous condemnation from Tehran echoing across the region. It’s as though the Islamic Republic’s scriptwriters are busy penning the next act of a high-stakes drama where revenge is not just a plot point but the entire storyline. One might think IR was in the middle of hosting a grand gala when Haniyeh’s death interrupted their program.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the diplomatic universe, the neutral actors have decided to play their roles with a remarkable lack of enthusiasm. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who traditionally prefer to keep their public statements as lukewarm as a tepid cup of coffee, have mastered the art of non-reaction. It’s almost as if their reaction was pre-approved by a committee, ensuring that no one gets too excited about anything.

Ah, Saudi Arabia!  — you’d think they’d have something to say about Haniyeh’s demise, but no, they chose silence. Their silence is deafening, a political art form showcasing how expertly one can sidestep controversy while maintaining a perfectly unruffled demeanor. Perhaps they figured it was better to keep the peace (or whatever passes for it) and avoid adding more fuel to the fire. Who needs drama when you can maintain your carefully balanced relationships? As for the Egyptians, they didn’t make any peep regarding Haniyeh’s death. Maybe they were too busy trying to untangle their complex regional relationships.

Coming to Turkey, the vocal critics of Israeli policies have often played the Hamas card. But this time, they took a surprisingly restrained approach. Perhaps they were preoccupied with their domestic dramas or budding relationship with the U.S. and the EU. Who knew they had more pressing matters than reacting to a high-profile assassination?

Their responses could be summed up as: “Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.”

And then, in the most minor expected twist, we have the applause from those who usually wouldn’t be caught dead on this side of the fence. Some factions and individuals within the broader Arab world, often wary of Hamas and its influence, have unexpectedly clapped for the action. It’s as if they were handed a script in which Haniyeh’s exit is a welcome plot development.

Hezbollah, the loyal ally of the Islamic Republic and self-proclaimed defender of Palestine, also kept mum after Haniyeh’s killing. Maybe they decided that with their own domestic issues, it was best to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Escalating tensions is so last season, after all.

With its own regional and internal concerns, Jordan also opted for a low profile. Their response—or lack thereof—was likely motivated by a desire to keep things stable (or as stable as they can be in that neck of the woods). Why take a stand when you can blend into the background?

While the above players played the silent game, a different narrative unfolded among certain groups within the broader Islamic and Arab world. Surprisingly, some factions couldn’t contain their approval for Haniyeh’s untimely exit.

Some individuals within the Persian Gulf States, particularly those with a grudge against Hamas, may have quietly cheered the news. Sure, they might publicly express caution, but deep down, they’ve always been skeptical of Hamas due to its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. There’s nothing like a little private enthusiasm to spice up the day!

Then we have the secular Arab leaders, who — surprise, surprise — viewed Haniyeh’s killing as a potential boon for regional stability. Who wouldn’t want to eliminate a perceived threat to peace? It’s all about keeping the status quo intact.

Let’s not forget the rival Palestinian factions, particularly Fatah, who might have seen Haniyeh’s exit as an opportunity to boost their political standing. After all, it’s a long-standing power struggle, and what better way to gain the upper hand than by eliminating a key player?

Some moderate voices in the Arab world, from states such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, nodded approvingly, welcoming the action toward combating extremism. Who doesn’t want a little pragmatism in the mess of Middle Eastern politics?

And finally, we have Israel’s supporters, who, unsurprisingly, were likely thrilled about the whole affair. For them, Haniyeh’s death was just another tick on the scoreboard in their ongoing battle against Hamas. There’s nothing like a little state-sponsored cheerleading to keep morale high!

One can almost imagine these characters holding up “thumbs up” signs while simultaneously checking their watches, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in what they hope will be a more stable and less chaotic narrative.

In the end, the muted responses from critical players reflect the intricate balancing act they perform within the region. While some groups silently approved, others chose silence as their best course of action.

The global reaction to Haniyeh’s death is like a high-stakes drama where every player vies for the limelight. From Iran’s operatic rage to the calm silence of the neutral parties and the unexpected applause from unexpected quarters, it’s a reminder of how theater and reality often blur in international politics. As the curtain falls on this particular act, one thing is clear: in the grand play of Middle Eastern geopolitics, everyone has their role, and the show must go on.

After all, in the chaotic world of Middle Eastern politics, sometimes the best reaction is no reaction at all.

©2024. Amil Imani. All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: Terrorists ‘Emboldened’ by Biden ‘Stalling’ Aid to Israel, GOP Senators Say

2 Terrorist Leaders Assassinated in 24 Hours

In less than 24 hours, two prominent terrorist leaders in the Middle East met separate, violent, and sudden ends. Senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr died Tuesday in an Israeli air strike in Beirut, Lebanon. Around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader, died in Tehran, Iran from an explosive device planted in his safehouse months earlier. Israel has not claimed credit for the second strike, but it could be interpreted as a strategy to bring the Gaza war to a conclusion by eliminating the terrorist leadership.

The strikes came three days after a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck a soccer field in northern Israel, killing 12 children in a Druze community. Netanyahu had not yet concluded his trip to the U.S., but when the news broke he rushed back to Israel “and had been ensconced with his cabinet basically since he landed,” described Israeli security expert Caroline Glick on “Washington Watch.”

Fuad Shukr

The first strike came against Shukr, “the Hezbollah chief of staff of their terror forces in Lebanon,” said Glick. “He was responsible for all their precision guided missiles and for all of their missile strikes against Israel,” including the deadly soccer strike.

Shukr has also been wanted by the United States for four decades for his role in the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. service members. “He’s been a known terrorist for decades,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Wednesday’s “Washington Watch,” with a “$5 million bounty on his head by the United States.”

“That has to be a setback for Hezbollah in their work against Israel,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins noted on “Washington Watch.” “He’s an operational leader. This is quite significant. This is going toward the head of the snake.”

Ismail Haniyeh

That night, 900 miles away, a bomb exploded in a safehouse of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), where Hamas’s political leader Haniyeh was staying in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president. The bomb was apparently planted months beforehand, remained undetected, and was remotely detonated. “When you go to Tehran … Iran is the head of the snake,” Perkins added.

“Israel is not taking credit for the Haniyeh strike,” Glick observed. “It is taking credit for the Hezbollah strike. But that’s a distinction that may or may not make that much of a difference, because obviously it’s being attributed to Israel.” Indeed, Perkins acknowledged that “the Iranians have responded that it is their duty to take revenge against Israel for this hit.”

Reuters and several other media outlets described Haniyeh as “the more moderate face of Hamas” in a poorly concealed jab at Israel for their suspected role in his death. However, after scorching criticism, Reuters quietly amended its original headline, although the article still calls Haniyeh “moderate” and “relatively pragmatic.”

Haniyeh joined Hamas at the terrorist group’s founding in 1987, became prime minister in Gaza in 2006, where Glick noted “he served for many years as the terror master on the ground,” including through the group’s bloody coup in 2007, and became chief of the group’s politburo in 2017. In 2019, he relocated from Gaza to Qatar to minimize his own personal danger.

Haniyeh endorsed donations to Gaza as “financial jihad,” led chants calling for “Death to Israel,” and celebrated the October 7 massacres as they occurred on video. In January, he proclaimed, “We should hold on to the victory that took place on October 7 and build upon it.” “You’ll never convince me he didn’t have anything to do with October the 7th,” Graham declared. “He was … in Iran … paying homage to the new Iranian president … and during the swearing in, they were chanting, ‘Death to Israel, death to America.’” Such is the so-called “moderate” face of Hamas.

Haniyeh’s assassination was “humiliating for the Iranian regime,” wrote the National Review editors, “as it means they allowed a leader of one of their proxy groups to be killed right under their noses when he was supposed to be under their protection.”

Assuming the assassination was carried out by Israel, it “sends a strong message to Tehran that no one is going to be under your shelter that we [can’t] eliminate,” suggested Perkins. “The Israeli intelligence is remarkable and able to track these individuals.”

“This shows that Israel can basically take out anybody any time it wants to in Iran. So it’s not only intelligence capability, it’s also operational capability on the ground in Iran,” Glick agreed. “He wasn’t in a major hotel. He was being hidden, effectively. And he was assassinated while under the protection of the IRGC.” As a result, “now they’re more under the gun to stand down against Israel and to accept our demands.”

Resolved to Win

“What we saw on Tuesday in Beirut and in Tehran, again, is going to act to stabilize the political situation and Israel still further, perhaps expand the governing coalition,” predicted Glick. “Over two-thirds of Israelis say that the only important thing is victory. It’s more important than national unity. It’s more important than anything. We need to win this war.”

Uniting Israelis behind a victorious strategy is important to Netanyahu’s government because “a very restive leftist minority has been trying to undermine the stability of the government for the year-and-a-half before October 7th,” Glick explained. “And then, with a short respite of about three or four months at the beginning of the war, they went back to trying to overthrow the government.”

What is holding Israelis together right now is their common sense of purpose, driven by the fact that they are at war along seven fronts. “This idea that there’s this tit-for-tat going on and that we’re not already at war … is part of a word game that is being led really by the United States under the Biden-Harris administration to try to portray this as some sort of … secret assault on Israel by Iran and its proxies,” complained Glick. “We’re at war.”

“Israel has been under continuous attack for the past nine months from Hezbollah and Lebanon, and obviously from Hamas, and from the Houthis, and from Iran, and from Iran’s militias in Iraq and in Syria, and in Judea and Samaria, and so on and so forth,” she continued. So, it’s “remarkable that … the United States keeps saying, ‘Well, we don’t want [certain responses] if Israel is attacked this way or that.”

Glick compared the situation to America’s own “total war” experience in the previous century. “Nobody ever asked, after any [discrete] battle in Europe in World War II — or in the Pacific, or in any battle in any war — ‘Okay, so now they attacked you. Are you going to do something?’ We’re at war. Of course we’re going to do something. We haven’t won yet!” she said. “There’s this whole effort to try to deny reality when it relates to the fact that Israel is in an ongoing regional war against Iran and all of its regional proxies.”

The targeted assassinations suggest a new phase in Israel’s war against Iran and its proxies, one that may evade harassment by the Biden administration. “We’ve been at war,” Glick repeated. “It’s important to be on offense. It’s important to restore Israel’s position.” With sudden, targeted strikes against terrorist leaders, Israel can regain the initiative, avoid American badgering about “red lines,” and keep their enemies on the back foot.

“Israel has a policy,” said Graham. “We will hunt you down — no matter what you do, no matter how long it takes — we’re coming after you if you try to kill Israelis.” Israel seems increasingly eager to fulfill that promise sooner rather than later.

Only three weeks earlier, Israel successfully eliminated Mohammed Deif, Hamas’s chief of staff in Gaza, striking one more name off the shrinking cast of characters around Hamas’s military leader, Yahya Sinwar. “Were Israel to eliminate Sinwar, coupled with the killings of Haniyeh and Deif, it would be easier for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to claim that Israel has effectively decapitated Hamas, making it more plausible to declare victory and exit Gaza to focus on the threat from Hezbollah and Iran itself,” proposed the National Review.

Israel inching closer to victory does not mean the threat is reduced — quite the opposite. “I would have to imagine there’s an anticipation of a retaliatory strike by Iran, or at least through one of their proxies,” imagined Perkins. “Israel has always been the most threatened country,” Glick responded. “Certainly, over the past 10 months, Israeli embassies, consulates throughout the world have been subjected to threats and to attacks, whether by radical leftists or Islamists, on the streets, and in London, and in other places.”

One particular vulnerability is “Israel’s athletes now in the Olympics,” she added, who “have already been under [threat] since the very outset of the games last week.” Israel recently augmented their “unprecedented amount of security” by “giving a personal bodyguard to every Israeli athlete.” There is a historical precedent for a heightened threat environment at the Olympics. In 1972, Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes in a terror attack at the Olympic games in Munich. The threat to Israeli athletes will continue beyond the Olympics into the Paralympics, “where Israel tends to win a lot of gold medals because we have so many wounded [military] veterans,” said Glick.

Despite the ongoing threats, Israel has demonstrated the proper — and successful — way to counter the violent hostility of Iran’s anti-Israel, anti-Western regime and its terrorist proxies. Israel has targeted those responsible for murdering its citizens. It has not been deterred by the porous international boundaries or nice distinctions between entities, which its enemies ignore. It identified the head of the snake and cut it off, sending a signal that it has the means, motive, and opportunity to do more. If America wants to deter Iranian aggression and Islamist terror in the Middle East (and elsewhere in the world), its leaders should take note.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh DEAD in his residence in Tehran

One of the world’s most evil men finally meets his end. Hamas’ end is drawing near, inshallah! — unless the Biden regime manages to betray Israel even more than it has already done, and moves to save Hamas.

Hamas chief killed in attack on his residence in Tehran, IRGC says

Iran International, July 30, 2024:

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after his residence was targeted in Tehran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed in a statement.

A statement by the IRGC’s Public Relations Department said the attack was carried out early Wednesday, adding that a probe is underway to find the cause of the incident.

The statement offered condolences to the people of Palestine, the Muslim world, and the Resistance Front’s fighters over the Hamas leader’s death.

A statement by Hamas says an “Israeli” raid killed the Palestinian group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh in his residence in Tehran….

Read more.

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Over One Million Muslim Americans Favor a Global Terrorist, and More Disturbing News

On October 20, 2023, the polling company Cygnal released a report on Americans’ views about the early October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The report was titled Survey of General Population: Israel -Hamas Awareness and Attitudes.[1] The survey presented the same questions to six different groups: Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, Evangelicals, Republicans, Independents, and Democrats, with the results being shown for each.

One of the disturbing results of this survey came in response to this question:

Below you will read a list of names of various people mentioned in the news recently. For each one, please indicate if you have heard of the person, and if you have, whether you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of the person. If you don’t recognize a name, choose so.

The name given was Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, and 38.6% of Muslim Americans had a favorable impression of him (of the other five groups, the closest favorable rating came from Democrats at 14.9%). There are an estimated 3.45 million Muslim Americans in the United States. This survey indicates that around 1.3 million Muslim Americans have a favorable impression of Haniyeh.

This is disturbing for two reasons. On October 8, 1997, the United States designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. And in January 2018, the U.S. State Department designated Ismail Haniyeh as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

This favorable impression of Haniyeh was not due to a lack of information among Muslim Americans. The survey showed that when asked how closely they had followed events in Israel since the attack by Hamas on October 7th (“Hamas Awareness”), 30.9% of Muslim Americans responded “Somewhat Closely,” and 44.9% responded “Very Closely.”

When asked about being informed with regard to “Fatah, Hamas and Palestinian politics,” 65.4% of Muslim Americans considered themselves “Informed,” and 7.3% considered themselves “Expert.”

The survey showed that Muslim Americans were also aware of the following events regarding the October 7th attack by Hamas:

  1. “Over 1,200 people were killed in Israel, including women, infants, the elderly, and Holocaust survivors.” Very Aware: 36.4%, and Somewhat Aware: 41.9%
  2. “Over 250 people who were attending an all-night music festival were killed in Israel.” Very Aware: 33.7%, and Somewhat Aware: 42.7%
  3. “Over 100 people, including women and young children, were abducted from Israel and are being held hostage in Gaza.” Very Aware: 36.9%, and Somewhat Aware: 44.4%
  4. “Hamas militants decapitated young children during their attack in Israel.” Very Aware: 25.9%, and Somewhat Aware: 40%

So despite the extent of the knowledge among Muslim Americans about the above incidents, around 1.3 million Muslim Americans still had a favorable impression of Haniyeh, and by inference, HAMAS. It would have been very interesting to see the results if Cygnal had asked the Muslim Americans their opinions on the above incidents.

Another disturbing result came from the same question about favorability being asked, but this time the name was Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He is a man with whom the chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are closely associated. 31.3% of Muslim Americans had a favorable impression of Khamenei (of the other five groups, the closest favorable rating came from Democrats at 15.9%). So a little over one million Muslim Americans have a favorable impression of Khamenei.

Just as disturbing was the response to this question:

The Biden administration acknowledges that Hamas is nothing but a proxy for Iran and is funded and supported by Iran. Would you be more or less likely to vote for a political candidate who supports releasing billions of dollars in frozen assets for Iran to use any way it chooses?

32.6% of Muslim Americans were “More Likely” to vote for such a candidate (of the other five groups, the closest “More Likely” rating came from Democrats at 18.6%).

28.3% of Muslim Americans were “More Likely” to “vote for a political candidate who supports allowing Iran to evade sanctions and earn billions of dollars from oil sales” (of the other five groups, the closest “More Likely” rating came from Democrats at 15.9%).

And 44.7% of Muslim Americans support the recent pro-Palestinian protests and demonstrations across multiple cities in the United States (of the other five groups, the closest “Support” rating came from Democrats at 25.2%).

Conclusion

The results of this survey show a generally inverse relationship between the responses of Muslim Americans and the responses of the other five groups. In theory, there is nothing wrong with public differences in opinion, and that is one of the freedoms we cherish in the United States. However, it is a different matter when survey results reveal one group’s massive support for a global terrorist (and by inference, the foreign terrorist organization that he heads), massive support for the leader of a terrorist-supporting country in which the chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are regular features, and massive support for that particular country to evade sanctions and receive billions of dollars in frozen assets to be used anyway that country chooses.

I have already shown in my book Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials,[2] that core tenets of Islamic Doctrine are in direct, irreconcilable conflict with the United States Constitution. The attitudes and beliefs of around one million or more Muslim Americans regarding terrorists and the support of terrorists shown in this survey raise serious questions about the security of the United States. This is especially so when considering that in fiscal year 2023, the Border Patrol encountered and released over 900,000 illegal aliens into the United States, and also estimated that during that same time period there were over 600,000 unidentified “gotaways” who had evaded the Border Patrol and entered the United States.[3] How many are unidentifed HAMAS or Iranian terrorists, and what kind of welcome might they be receiving?

AUTHOR

Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of six books about Islam. His latest book is Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials.

RELATED VIDEO: Evidence that Hamas is using hospitals as arsenals. Which is situation-normal for Muslims at war.

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

[1]           https://www.cygn.al/new-national-poll-muslim-americans-say-hamas-was-justified-in-attacking-israel-majority-of-americans-say-iran-should-be-held-accountable-majority-support-israels-right-to-self-defense/

[2]           Stephen M. Kirby, Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials (Washington D.C.: Center for Security Policy Press, 2019). A PDF copy of this book is available for download at https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kirby_Islamic_Doctrine.pdf.

[3]           Adam Shaw, “Mayorkas confirms over 600,000 illegal immigrants evaded law enforcement at southern border last fiscal year,” Fox News, October 31, 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mayorkas-confirms-over-600k-illegal-immigrants-evaded-law-enforcement-southern-border.

Hamas Billionaires Getting the Attention Their Riches Deserve

I have for years drawn attention here to the billions of dollars that the leaders of Hamas have stolen from the sums provided by foreign donors, money that was meant to support the people of Gaza. Now I am delighted that The Daily Mail (UK), The National Post (Canada), the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Fox News have all given the story of the three Hamas billionaires extensive coverage. The coverage by Fox News can be found here:

Hamas billionaires: Lifestyles of the rich and terrorists

by Eric Shawn, Fox News, November 8, 2023:

They are living the Hamas high life.

While the people of Gaza live in poverty and have suffered under the horrors of Hamas, the terror group’s leaders apparently are living high on the hog.

Israeli officials say Hamas leaders are billionaires, amassing an overwhelming jackpot of terror money for themselves….

Hamas bosses Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh are worth an estimated $4 billion each, and political bureau leader Mousa Abu Marzouk is worth $3 billion….

Photos show Hamas leader Mashaal playing table tennis, as well as squeezing in a workout on a treadmill in what appears to be a hotel gym.

Reports have long claimed that one of the Hamas leaders’ bases of operations has been the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar. In 2015, Mashaal held a press conference in the hotel’s ballroom, where he attacked Israel. And it was said he spent a lot of his time at the property. Four Seasons touts its property as being “reimagined with modern grandeur and sparkling with sunlight and sea views. From the elegant lobby to energetic restaurants and lounges, our beachfront urban retreat has been transformed into a vibrant hotspot.”

In a statement to Fox News, the company says the “Four Seasons confirms that Ismail Haniyeh is not living at or staying at Four Seasons Hotel Doha. Information circulating on social media suggesting otherwise is not true.” Requests for comment from Fox News about other Hamas leaders have not yet been answered.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has introduced legislation, “The Hamas Sanctions Act,” that would block Hamas’ ability to find safe havens abroad, including in Qatar or Turkey. The legislation would impose sanctions on “hotels, landlords, banks, and similar businesses in allied countries that provide services to Hamas leaders,” and would potentially classify countries, like Qatar and Turkey, “as state sponsors of terrorism for hosting Hamas.”…

The United States has targeted nearly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned terrorist groups in the region.”…

Read full article.

The three Hamas billionaires have stolen, from the people of Gaza, eleven billion dollars. They luxuriate in their residences, and luxury suites, in Doha, as well as in their villas in Beirut and Istanbul, where they have been photographed lolling on beds, working out in private gyms, flying about in their private planes, eating at the most expensive restaurants, completely indifferent to the conditions in which the people of Gaza live. Think of how many apartments, electricity plants, water purification plants could have been built in Gaza with those eleven billion dollars. The only people trying to help the Gazans directly — thus avoiding sending aid through the thieving Hamas rulers — are the Israelis, who until October 7 had been providing jobs to 20,000 people from Gaza, who earned between three and five times as much working in Israel than they could have earned at home, even assuming there were jobs to be had in the Strip.

The monstrous theft by Hamas leaders of aid meant for all Gazans is likely to arouse more indignation in the outside world than their record of supporting terrorism. For their vast wealth, stolen from the people of Gaza, and their living the high life while leaving the Gazans to wallow in their misery — a misery made much worse by the atrocities those leaders set loose on October 7 — is an outrage easy to grasp.

There should be posters, with the faces of these Hamas leaders, and the amounts they have stolen from fellow Arabs in Gaza, held up by pro-Israeli counter-protesters everywhere. Those will get attention in a certain segment of the population in the West that, I regret to say, posters of kidnapped Israelis will not.

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.