Hamas Is Now Encouraging Return of Suicide Attacks; Where Is the World’s Response?

As Hamas is being thoroughly defeated militarily in Gaza, the Head of Hamas’ Political Bureau abroad, Khaled Mashaal, is encouraging Palestinians to return to suicide attacks — what he calls “Martyrdom operations” — all over Israel and around the world:

Khaled Mashaal: “What is required today in the West Bank, the 1948 territories [i.e., Israel], and the diaspora is an escalation of this struggle. In the West Bank we have already seen a successful start, a few Martyrdom-seeking operations [i.e., suicide attacks]. 

We want a return to the Martyrdom-seeking operations. The situation requires an open struggle. They [the Israelis] are waging an open struggle against us … We have unleashed all forms of resistance and foremost among them the Martyrdom-seeking operations.” [emphasis added]

[Abdulaziz Mucahit, X (Twitter), Aug. 28, 2024]

Launching attacks in Israel is a tactic for Fatah and Hamas, especially since the Gaza war began. Fatah is the group tied to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank.

A month after Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, a Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel, posted a video guide and demonstration for young Palestinians, instructing them how to attack and murder Israeli civilians on buses in Israel:

Text on screen:
“1. Attacking a bus of settlers
The wolf [i.e., terrorist] gets on the bus disguised in settlers’ clothing
Scanning [the bus] to identity the targets without drawing attention”

“2. Attacking a bus of settlers when it is stopped at a station
Shooting the driver first of all”

Posted text: “The buses of the occupier — precious prey
Presented to you, young people of Palestine: The way to carry out
a successful heroic operation [i.e., terror attack]
against the buses of the occupier and its settlers.
What are you waiting for?”

[“Our Martyrs – Our Moons” Telegram channel (Hamas-affiliated), Nov. 6, 2023]

Both Fatah and Hamas justify terror attacks against Israeli citizens everywhere as legitimate tactics toward the goal of eliminating Israel, as Palestinian Media Watch has documented.

Al-Jazeera TV senior correspondent in Turkey, Abdulaziz Mucahit, posted the video of Khaled Mashaal giving a speech in Turkey, but later deleted it.

Where is the world’s outrage and response to this development?

Itamar Marcus is Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

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